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    Oyster Shell

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    Cheyzee
    Oyster and mussel farming began in the Philippines in the 1930s using simple broadcast methods. By the mid-20th century, more structured off-bottom techniques using bamboo stakes and suspended ropes became popular. Mussel farming started later in 1955 with green mussels initially seen as pests but later cultivated. In the 1970s, mussel farming spread beyond Manila Bay as green mussels established in other areas. Today, oyster and mussel farming continues to be important but faces challenges from increasing red tide blooms which cause temporary bans on harvesting.

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    Oyster Shell

    Uploaded by

    Cheyzee
    78 views3 pages
    Oyster and mussel farming began in the Philippines in the 1930s using simple broadcast methods. By the mid-20th century, more structured off-bottom techniques using bamboo stakes and suspended ropes became popular. Mussel farming started later in 1955 with green mussels initially seen as pests but later cultivated. In the 1970s, mussel farming spread beyond Manila Bay as green mussels established in other areas. Today, oyster and mussel farming continues to be important but faces challenges from increasing red tide blooms which cause temporary bans on harvesting.

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    Oyster and mussel farming began in the Philippines in the 1930s using simple broadcast methods. By the mid-20th century, more structured off-bottom techniques using bamboo stakes and suspended ropes became popular. Mussel farming started later in 1955 with green mussels initially seen as pests but later cultivated. In the 1970s, mussel farming spread beyond Manila Bay as green mussels established in other areas. Today, oyster and mussel farming continues to be important but faces challenges from increasing red tide blooms which cause temporary bans on harvesting.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    78 views3 pages

    Oyster Shell

    Uploaded by

    Cheyzee
    Oyster and mussel farming began in the Philippines in the 1930s using simple broadcast methods. By the mid-20th century, more structured off-bottom techniques using bamboo stakes and suspended ropes became popular. Mussel farming started later in 1955 with green mussels initially seen as pests but later cultivated. In the 1970s, mussel farming spread beyond Manila Bay as green mussels established in other areas. Today, oyster and mussel farming continues to be important but faces challenges from increasing red tide blooms which cause temporary bans on harvesting.

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    You are on page 1of 3

    2.1.3.

    Oysters and Mussels

    The farming of oyster in the Philippines was said to have started as early as 1931
    when an oyster farm was established in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental employing the
    broadcast method of culture (Rosell, 1992). Then either in 1932 (Ronquillo, 1992) or
    1935 (Rosell, 1992) the then Bureau of Science introduced improved methods in
    Binakayan, Cavite. Until now Binakayan is still a major oyster producing center. For
    a long while, oyster farms were confined largely to the Manila Bay area with only
    isolated and sporadic operations found in a few localities.

    The practice has now spread to many parts of the Philippines up to Mindanao in the
    south. The broadcast method wherein empty oyster shells are merely scattered on
    the bottom of a know oyster bed is still practiced particularly in certain areas where
    the installation of any structure may hinder navigation as in Tinagong Dagat in
    Capiz, but most farms now use off-bottom techniques. The cultch, or type of
    substrate used range from empty shells of oysters and other bivalves to bamboo
    alone or in some cases used automotive rubber tires. The structure used could be
    as simple as bamboo stakes or could be a more elaborate set up using racks from
    which the cultches that are strung together with nylon monofilament fishing lines
    are suspended.

    The farming of mussels started 20 years after, in 1955 when the Bureau of Fisheries
    oyster farming station in Binakayan, Cavite established a 300 m2 demonstration
    mussel farm (Rosell, 1992). Prior to this the green mussels, Perna viridis, were
    regarded by the oyster farmers as pests. The fisheries personnel however realized
    the potentials of the species as a primary crop in itself and decided to put up the
    demonstration farm. With a ready market in Manila it did not take long for the
    mussel industry to grow. During the late 1960s, the Mr. Santos B. Rasalan then
    Commissioner of the Phillippine Fisheries Commission (as the Bureau of Fisheries
    became known at the time) reportedly also brought in green mussel stocks from
    Thailand and replanted these in the fisheries demonstration farm. What effect these
    had on the stock is not known.

    It was only in the middle to late 1970s however that mussel farming spread outside
    the Manila Bay area. This was mainly due to the green mussels limited occurrence.
    Prior to the 1970s they were never reported outside Metro Manila. The most
    widespread mussel species in the Philippines is the brown mussel, Modiolus
    metcalfei. The brown mussel occurs as a dense mat on the bottom of shallow bays.

    Unlike the green mussel, it is not known to settle on artificial substrates, but instead
    prefers to settle on the valves of the grown mussels (Yap, 1979). Because of such
    settlement habit, it has a low potential for aquaculture and in fact has never been
    farmed.

    Probably due to increased communication between islands, the green mussel


    eventually became established in other bays. They could have been unintentionally
    introduced through the bilge water of the ships plying the islands. Most notable are
    Sapian Bay and Batan Bay in the island of Panay and Maqueda Bay in the island of
    Samar. This did not occur until the mid-1970s. Once the their presence were noticed
    on fish traps and pilings, it did not take long for people in the locality to venture into
    their culture.

    The most common method uses whole lengths of bamboo poles simply stuck into
    the soft muddy bottom of known mussel beds. If a good spat settlement occurs
    soon after installation, the first harvest can be realized in as short as six months.
    This method that started in Binakayan, Cavite in 1955 is still the most popular due
    to its simplicity. Although bamboo is now relatively expensive and sometimes
    difficult to find, the method still persists.

    A one-hectare commercial venture using polypropylene ropes as substrates was


    made in Sapian Bay in 1976 to 1979, not surprisingly by one of the countrys largest
    rope manufacturer. This can be considered a large-scale venture in as much as most
    mussel farms range between 300 to 1,000 m2. Instead of hanging vertically from a
    raft, the ropes were formed into large 5 m long webs which were then stretched
    across a bamboo framework set on the bottom of the shallow bay. The farm was
    reported to have harvested 600 mt of mussels during the first year of operation.
    The farm was not sustained, partly due to marketing problems.

    The use of ropes suspended from a raft similar to that of Spain or from a buoy and
    long line contraption similar to that of New Zealand had also been demonstrated
    successfully at one time or another. However the preferred method is to stake
    bamboo poles into the muddy bottom singly a meter apart in 2 to 10 m deep water,
    or in a cluster around a central pole, resembling the framework of a Native
    American tepee, to provide some stability.

    The bulk of oysters and mussels are sold live. A small amount may be shucked and
    sold shell-off either fresh or salted. With improved transportation lines, mussels
    from Maqueda Bay on the island of Samar now reaches Manila market or even
    northern Mindanao.

    During recent years mussel and oyster farmers have been faced with the red tide
    problem. Extremely rare before, red tide is now occurring with increasing regularity.
    It has also spread outside Manila Bay. It seems all the major mussel producing areas
    are now regularly having red tide blooms. Due to several deaths in the past the
    government has a regular red tide monitoring program. Whenever the red tide
    organisms exceed a certain threshold level, a complete ban is imposed on the
    harvesting and sale of oysters, mussels and all other bivalves. In the interest of
    public safety, even bivalves from a red tide free area are not allowed into the
    lucrative Manila market to prevent surreptitious harvesting from the red tide
    positive area. Needless to say the shellfish ban always wrecks havoc on the
    livelihood of the families relying completely on the production or trading of mussel
    and oyster.

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