2003/209 Sydney Rock Oysters: Overcoming constraints to commercial scale hatchery and nursery production

By Wayne A. O’Connor, Michael Dove and Ben Finn

Chronic failure of attempts by hatcheries to reliably produce commercial quantities of Sydney rock oyster (SRO) seed has occurred in NSW for more than two decades. In a review of hatchery performance, Heasman et al. (2000) found that approximately 56% of SRO larval batches failed within the first 8 days, and of those runs that were successful, a further 58% suffered spat mass mortality syndrome (SMMS). Collectively these mortalities denied the SRO industry the opportunity to reliably access the advantages of selectively bred oysters. These advantages include significantly increased growth rates (30%) and resistance to major diseases such as "QX". The primary aim of this project was to develop the technology and establish the conditions under which reliable, commercial, industry based, supply of selectively bred spat was possible. This has been achieved and commercial production has begun.