Oyster Growth

Permitting

When this grant was submitted, use of gear on intertidal leases had been allowed by growers as long as the gear used did not exceed 0.61 m (2.0 ft) off bottom, the height of a crab trap.  In fall 2017, supplies were ordered and gear was prepared to be deployed in summer 2018 with seed from the spring spawn from the hatchery.  In winter 2018, we were informed by the state of Georgia that permits would be required prior to placing gear on the commercial leases.  In March 2018, permits were submitted to state of Georgia (Appendix I) to place the cylinder cages on three commercial leases and in the waters adjacent to the Shellfish Research Laboratory.  Additionally, a pre-construction notice (PCN) under the Nationwide 48 that covers Shellfish Mariculture Activities was also completed for the US Army Corps of Engineers.  After review, in July 2018 the state of Georgia notified us that the permits were not approved and stated that research on shellfish could not be conducted on commercial leases.  In response, the state recommended that we apply for a research and training area in the Skidway River that we could place the gear in and have the growers travel to our location to utilize the gear.   A permit was filed with state in August 2018 (Appendix II) and a PCN was completed and submitted to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Appendix III).  In September 2019 the state of Georgia approved the permit and issued a revocable license (Appendix IV) which then allowed the permit to move forward to be reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Last communication with the Army Corps of Engineers in January 2021 indicated that the training area permit was still working its way through review.

During this time frame, the state of Georgia went through the process of rewriting the Shellfish section of Title 27 of the Georgia Code.  Within the code, language was added to clearly give the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division the ability to permit the use of gear for mariculture activities on commercial lease through application for a shellfish mariculture permit (SMP).  The change in code was passed in 2019 legislative session, but did not take effect until March 2020.

Methods

Work with shellfish growers is extremely important and from the onset three growers, who held intertidal shellfish leases, agreed to work with us to evaluate the use of growing oysters in bottom gear and shipping of oysters.  Work with intertidal bottom cages (Bliss et al. 2016) had previously been evaluated, but there were concern by growers that the cages were too bulky and that they could only be tended at low tide.  To address this concern, we evaluated the use of cylinder oyster tubes which have been demonstrated to be an effective method to grow Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in France (Robert et al. 1993) and rock oysters (Saccostrea commercialis) in Australia (Holliday 1991).

Oyster tubes were constructed using 12.7 mm and 25.4 mm Aquamesh^® (Riverdale Mills) and were 1 meter long with a diameter of 30.4 cm and a round black hard plastic float 81 cm with 8.1 cm diameter (Go Deep GD-OF-04-S) was strapped inside each tube.  Stings of four tubes were to be place in the upper intertidal zone and three strings in the lower intertidal zone.  Oysters from the hatchery were spawned in May 2018 and seed were held at the hatchery in floating upwelling system (FLUPSY) until they were retained on 2 mm screen (2.8 mm).  Seed would then be held in 2mm mesh bags on racks at each site until they were retained on 12.7mm and were transferred to tubes.

In light of the permit difficulties, cylinder cages were hung off the two docks (Priest Landing and Skidaway Campus) owned by the University of Georgia to evaluate growth and survival. The Priest Landing dock is located on the Wilmington River and the Skidaway dock is located on the Skidaway River (Figure 1).  Both locations have semi-diurnal tides of 2-3 m and water salinity between 10ppt – 34ppt and temperature range from 8.5°C - 29.9°C.  The Priest Landing site is more energetic since due to its close proximity to Wassaw Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to COVID restrictions, we were unable to engage growers as anticipated in the process while cylinders were hanging off the dock. Oyster spat were set out in March 2020 at 24.7mm.  Seed were spawned in summer 2019 and held at the Shellfish Lab in the FLUPSY until deployment. Twelve cages (Figure 2) were hung at the surface and 12 rested on the bottom in 3 blocks with 4 cages each (Figure 3).  Each cylinder was stocked at a density of 100 oysters per cage. Due to the changes in methodology, it was not possible to get estimates on how long it takes to handle the gear in the intertidal zone. We did monitor the time to pull the tubes up onto the dock and to clean them.

Figure 1. Location of Skidaway Dock (yellow) in the Skidaway River and Priest Landing Dock (red) in the Wilmington River were tube cages were placed.  Chatham County, GA 2021.

Figure 2. Image of oyster tubes in the intertidal zone. Chatham County, GA

Figure 3. Image of oyster tube deployment for oyster growth study. Chatham County, GA.

Shipping

To estimate the viability of direct shipping of oyster, we examined the cost of the packaging materials, number of oysters, and shipping cost to transport oyster overnight and next day.  In addition, we evaluated the feasibility of recyclable cooler containers to address concerns from restaurants to minimize shipping container waste.

Methods

Oyster processing

Oysters from cylinder tubes could not be used as anticipated, so single oysters from concurrent aquaculture research were utilized for shipping. Oyster were collected following state harvest regulations, placed in walk-in cooler that was maintained at 4.4°C (40°F) for a minimum of 24 hours at the grower’s facility or in the cooler at the Shellfish Research Laboratory (SRL).  Oysters were then packed with grower assistance at their facility or at the SRL. Prior to shipping, the temperature of oysters was checked with a handheld laser thermometer (SPER Scientific Model #800103). That was calibrated following guidelines established by the manufacturer.  Oyster were then packed into a either a Styrofoam (ULINE S-16478) or recyclable cooler, cold packs added, and a shellstock TTI (Time Temperature Indicator) by Vitsab®  was activated and applied to the inside of the cooler. The cooler was then dropped off for shipment via next day air or ground. Instead of arranging pick-up for overnight, it was more effective to drop coolers off at the FedEx facility at the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport.  In conversations with FedEx personnel, the deadline to drop a package off was 5pm.  After 5pm, the price to send overnight packages increased and the earliest that ground packages would ship out would be the following afternoon.  Upon delivery of the package, we recorded the outside ambient temperature, condition of the box, and the temperature of nine oysters, three from the top, three from the middle, and three from the bottom. These temperatures were averaged to determine overall oyster temperature, and status of TTIs was recorded (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Images of Vitstab shellstock TTI. 9a image show tag prior to activation (top) and after activation (bottom).  9b shows tag indicating product remained at a safe temperature (top) and that temperature is at unsafe levels (bottom).

Temperature analysis

To determine if oysters were received at a safe temperature, the average of nine oysters was used.  Regression analysis was then used to plot the receiving temperature of oysters against the ambient outside temperature when received to see if there was a relationship between receiving temperature and oyster temperature.  All analyses were conducted using NCSS 9 (Hintze 2013).

Business model

Enterprise budget

To assist growers with potential cost and revenue, an enterprise budget was developed within Excel software so that it could be easily used by individuals.  Team members attended the Oyster South Symposium in Wilmington NC in February 2020.  Oyster South Symposium is an industry group that works to promote oyster aquaculture throughout the southern region from North Carolina through Texas and holds a symposium annually that is well attended by oyster growers and aquaculture extension agents. Alabama and Virginia growers were chosen since Virginia has an established aquaculture industry and Alabama is still developing. With the 2020 symposium held in Wilmington, NC it was well attended by growers from Virginia as well as growers from Alabama.  This allowed team members to make connections with growers and discuss economic items to consider when developing the budget.  The information collected at the conference inferred items to consider when developing the enterprise budget.

The budget allows the individual to estimate the number of tubes they want to start with, number of tubes they plan on adding each year for the additional four years, add in oyster mortality rate, and stocking density. Tubes built for the project were manufactured at the lab and cost about $10.00 in supplies and took about two hours to assemble, which gives a total cost of $25.00 per tube (when estimated at federal minimum wage of $7.50/hour).  Tubes are now also commercially available and cost $30.00 each.  (For the enterprise budget the commercial price was utilized.) The budget then automatically adjusts and estimates annual expenses, estimated net revenue, and year-to-date profit and loss. In addition, to developing a budget for tube, an enterprise budget for bottom cages was also created.  This will allow growers two models to evaluate the potential cost and potential profitability for the two methods that we have data for to grow oysters in the intertidal zone in Georgia.

Economic Impact

Economic impact analysis provides a method to quantify the direct economic effects of a business operation as well as the ripple effects of the financial transactions made by the enterprise for input purchases and household purchases by owners and employees of both the direct and indirect business employees.

Methodology

This approach demonstrates the role of a project or industry in the economy through a multiplier effect that begins with input expenditures stimulating business to business spending, personal income, and employment.  We employ the IMPLAN input-output (I-O) model (see implan.com and disclaimer below) that separates the economy into 546 industrial sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, trade, and services and calculates the economic impact? expressed in terms of direct and indirect and induced effects. The following definitions provide insight into the metrics^[1]:

Direct effects

The set of economic activity applied to the I-O multipliers for impact analysis. It is one or more production changes or expenditures made by producers/consumers as a result of an activity or policy and can be positive or negative. In this case, it is the sales/revenue of the oyster operations and corresponding jobs. Applying these initial changes to the multipliers in IMPLAN will then display how the region will respond economically to these initial changes.

Indirect effects

The resulting effects from business to business purchases in the supply chain. For the oyster enterprise, this would be purchase of any inputs or supplies needed for the business.

Induced effects

The induced effects stem from the household spending of earnings from employments, minus taxes, savings and commuter income. Examples of this might include groceries, gas, insurance, or utilities.

Jobs calculated within an IMPLAN industrial sector are not limited to whole numbers, and fractional amounts represent additional hours worked without an additional employee. With no measure of hours involved in employment impacts, IMPLAN summations for industrial sectors which include fractional employment represent both jobs and job equivalents. Since employment may result from some employees working additional hours in existing jobs, instead of terming indirect employment impacts as “creating” jobs, a more accurate term is “involving” jobs or job equivalents.  It is also important to note that this type of analysis does not include cost/benefit analysis, net economic benefit, or social benefits resulting from the project. Labor income reflects the combined cost of total payroll paid to employees and payments received by self-employed individual or unincorporated business owners. Value added is the contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (or equivalent) in the region, while Output is the total production value of an enterprise, sales or revenues.

In-state Market Surveys

Each of the social science components of this project were tremendously impacted by the 2020-2021 COVID global pandemic and subsequent months of irregular life.  The originally proposed methodology and data collection efforts, which were nearly complete in several cities, became completely inaccurate in the aftermath of the decimation of the restaurant industry in Georgia.  In response, Yandle and Tookes created a revised methodology that would rely on in-depth, qualitative interviews to elicit restaurant experience with and potential interest in Georgia oysters, to supplement/replace the suddenly inaccurate survey data that had been collected to that point.  This report reflects this temporal reality:  Several project objectives have been separated into “Pre-COVID” and “Post-COVID” sections, to illustrate the original research methodology and early work, and then the revised research methodology and data collected and analyzed. 

Pre-COVID

Prior to the spring of 2020, there were several attempts to create innovation solutions to shipping seafood in the United States.  Businesses around the country began to connect local seafood consumers to local fishermen by providing healthy and safe methods to transport seafood directly to consumers. Our case study research highlighted Fishline, Craig Krasberg, Mike Washburn, and the Dimin Family as entities who had raised awareness for local fishermen and their respective industries. Fishline is a free app that was created in 2012 to connect local consumers to local fishermen in order to promote eating locally. They promoted the consumption of local rather than imported seafood with the hope of creating a sustainable future for the industry. Similarly, Craig Krasberg of Juneau, Alaska devised a marketing plan that connected local harvesters of crab, salmon, and halibut to consumers via direct shipments of seafood using reusable packaging materials. Kasberg’s facility, Alaska Seafood Source, provides the opportunity for these local harvesters to help create a sustainable future for the seafood industry in Alaska. Mike Washburn started his company in hopes that by directly marketing fresh seafood directly to consumers, there would be benefits such as economic advancement for fishermen, quality seafood for customers, and educational opportunities for consumers about the seafood they are purchasing. The Dimin Family created their company, Sea to Table, to make sustainably caught seafood easily available to consumers. Sea to Table works with organizations that care about the health of the oceans and the safety of the seafood they distribute. These companies all want to create a direct line of communication from fishermen to consumer in hopes of eliminating the middleman and creating a sustainable future for local fishermen for years to come. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these entities used direct shipping methods to create relationships between producers and consumers, with the goal of promote local seafood for a better future for the fishing communities providing the food.

Post-COVID

The final phase of this research project took place during the economic turbulence of the COVID epidemic.  A foundational component of this project was marketing cultured oysters to Georgia restaurants that focused on local and regional foods.   As that market shut down, a series of reflections published by the editor of Seafood News (John Sackton) provided a unique opportunity to observe the disruptions the changes in the restaurant industry caused to the seafood industry as a case study. Table 2 summarized these reflections during 2020 as COVID impacts unfolded.  Key insights to this study include:

• The restaurant industry took a massive hit in 2020, however, it was not quite as dire as initially predicted.
• Seafood broadly (and oysters in particular) are particularly vulnerable to foodservice industry instability.
• Safety issues, low margin, and the high cost of shipping (which consumers are unwilling to pay for) makes direct-to-consumer marketing unattractive. This is likely particularly true for oysters.
• Uncertainty about the future direction of the restaurant industry will remain for years.

While the worst predictions did not materialize, this experience is a reminder of the fragility of relying on one sector (e.g., foodservice) for a customer base, and thus the importance of diversifying.  However, the unique nature of oysters (live product, requiring specific handing procedures for safety) makes entering some of the alternative markets (such as direct-to consumer) challenging (Table 2).

Table 2. Documenting Changes in Seafood/Restaurant Industry due to COVID during 2020. (Source: Seafood News “Winding Glass” Columns , Author: John Sackton)

Methods to IMMERs

Pre-Covid-19

IMMHER Restaurant Inventory Methodology

Based on a sampling strategy introduced in a 2017 working paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (Glaeser et al. 2017), we utilized publicly available data about restaurants in the selected cities of Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Atlanta, and Athens, Georgia accessible on the restaurant review website, Yelp.com.  Working city by city, the research team searched for all independently operated, high end restaurants in each city demarcated by “$$$” and “$$$$” indicating they were “expensive” ($25-40) or “very expensive” ($50 and higher) per meal/customer (CMS Max 2021).  While a sufficient number (220 combined) were identified in Atlanta and Athens, only 33 that met this criteria were identified in Savannah, Macon, and Augusta.  Subsequently we broadened the search parameters in those cities to include “$$” or “moderately expensive” restaurants that were independently operated.  We revised the list against the following criteria:

• Eliminated restaurants belonging to national chains. Independent restaurants with more than one location were acceptable.
• Restaurants that self-identified as a specific genre that does not typically highlight seafood items on menu were examined closely to determine if seafood was present, and then removed from the sampling frame if it was not (i.e. Mexican, Indian, BBQ)

We then created a restaurant database, compiling restaurant name, address, phone number, active status, and website address.  We examined online menus to determine whether oysters were sold at that time.  We calculated the average dinner entrée, appetizer price, oyster main course price, and oyster appetizer price.  This sampling frame was the foundation for our random sampling.  In anticipation of analyzing the data to come from these surveys, we calculated the population and median income of each selected city using United States Census Bureau data for Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, and Savannah.  We planned to compare our final data to determine whether population and income were factors in the number of restaurants and their prices in the selected cities.  Tables 3 - 6 of this data are available below (Census.gov).  

Table 3. United States Census Bureau Population (city)

Table 4. United States Census Bureau Median Income, 2011-2015 (city)

Table 5. United States Census Bureau Population (county)

Table 6. United States Census Bureau Median Income, 2011-2015 (county)

We subsequently developed survey instruments specifically for the purposes of this project, and applied for IRB approval for this research through both Emory and Georgia Southern Universities.  This approval was granted, and data collection began in 2018 and continued through the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 global pandemic commenced. 

Post Covid-19

Qualitative, In-Depth Chef Interviews

COVID-19 decimated our data and research plan for this subject.  In order to gather sufficient quantities of currently-accurate data shifted our methodology to semi-structured qualitative interviews with interested professional chefs conducted via phone or video conference.  The interviews took between 30 and 90 minutes.  In order to identify interview participants, we conducted snowball sampling through existing contacts in the restaurant industries of Savannah, Statesboro, Macon, and Augusta to recruit chefs) to complete qualitative interviews.  While they were open-ended in nature, they included key themes such as the following:

1. Chef’s primary role in the restaurant? How long have working in the industry?
2. Have you personally eaten oysters? Do you enjoy them? What do you like/dislike about them? Do you have any concerns about them?
   1. Have you ever personally eaten Georgia oysters? What did you like/dislike about them? What are your concerns about them?
3. How would you describe your restaurant pre-COVID?
4. How important is seafood to your restaurant? Have you ever/do you currently serve oysters in your restaurant?  Tell me a little bit about how you serve oysters
5. Can you tell me about your customers’ interest in oysters? Do your customers prefer oysters from specific regions?
6. As a food buyer, what do you think about when purchasing oysters?
7. Have you ever served Georgia oysters in your restaurant? Why/why not? Can you tell me about your experience?
8. Would you be interested in serving Georgia oysters in your restaurant? What would be important to you in making that decision? Which would be the best ways for you to communicate about Georgia oysters?
9. Where do you currently buy your seafood from?
10. Are you willing to receive Georgia oysters directly from the grower via overnight shipping in temperature-controlled packaging? Willing to pay shipping or handling fees? How often would you want to receive a delivery? How many in each delivery?
11. How much would you be willing to pay and how would you be willing to pay for them?
12. What potential concerns or recommendations do you have about selling Georgia oysters to restaurants like we’ve described?
13. How have you and your restaurant been impacted by COVID? How have you changed operation? 
14. Has the way you buy and serve seafood and shellfish changed since COVID? How has COVID affected your interest in shellfish? Specifically, oysters?

Informed consent documents were emailed to each participant prior to the interview, and verbal confirmation of their informed consent was obtained at the beginning of each interview, and noted on the interview document.  Calls were recorded for later transcription and current and on-going data analysis.