Using Seawater and the Sun to Mitigate Public Health Risk from Birds on Floating Oyster Bag Farms

Commodities

• Animals: shellfish

Practices

• Animal Production: aquaculture
• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
• Energy: solar energy

The perching of seabirds (terns, gulls and cormorants) on floating shellfish aquaculture gear has become a major challenge for oyster growers who have adopted the floating gear due to the enhanced oyster welfare and farm viability aspects of improved growth survival. The requirement for growers to deter birds from floating gear due to perceived bacterial food safety risk factors is especially challenging for those using floating bag systems as the surface area for bird perching is high. One method for farm coverage without the need to modify the gear itself is the use of automatic sprinkler systems to startle the perched birds with seawater on site and make them uncomfortable to return.

A "bird squirting" system has been prototyped but never been fully tested for larger scale control over floating bag based oyster farms. This project aims to further develop a bird sprinkler system for maximum range in autonomous deployment on oyster farms when bird perching represents an issue. This system will be tested over a field season at four different oyster farms, evaluating effectiveness as a deterrent, relative range of effectiveness, and ultimately the cost per estimate of two versions. The final goal is to make the sprinkler systems more accessible to farms, so results will be shared with other oyster growers through meetings and demonstrations, a technical bulletin summary of design and use, a short video, and through outreach to regulators and equipment suppliers in Northeast states.

1. Further develop a bird squirter prototype by testing of components and incorporation of grower input on design so modifications can be made as needed (Activities 1-3)
2. Incorporate design adjustments into a fleet of 8 bird squirters for deployment in 2027 at 4 participating oyster farms for assessment of effectiveness and the range of effectiveness in deterring birds from roosting on the gear (Activities 4, 5, and 6)
3. Four of the bird squirters will be professionally built by Marine Imaging and four will be built by farmers, so we will evaluate longevity over the entire bird season (July-Oct) to compare cost effectiveness of investment (Activities 4, 5, and 6)
4. Share results and design of the bird squirter with other shellfish growers and document industry adoption (Activities 7, 8, 9, and 10)