Oyster Hatchery Experiences with Scott Rikard

January 17, 2018

A series of workshops were conducted to address industry issues in the production of shellfish seed.  In this seminar, Scott Rikard with the Auburn University Shellfish Lab talked about his shellfish hatchery experiences. Scott manages the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory on Dauphin Island, Alabama. With 27 years of hatchery experience, Scott oversees both hatchery research activities and commercial production of seed for the growing oyster culture industry in the Gulf of Mexico. His applied approach and practical experiences in setting up and running a hatchery apply to any bivalve shellfish species.

Agenda

Topics included:

• Running a seasonal, outdoor hatchery facility—              do’s and dont’s
• Recent improvements to address production issues
• Use of commercial algal paste versus live algae cultures
• Use of containerized spawning system
• Optimizing oyster set on micro-cultch

Video