Bay to Hatchery, Then to Growers

NORTH CAPE MAY – Fronting on Cape May Canal, about a half mile east of Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, is New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center. Tucked out of sight from Jonathan Hoffman Road, the facility, which opened in 2008, is central to Cape May County’s fledgling oyster farming industry.
It is in that unassuming facility where adult oysters are taken in January, and placed in one of eight, 1,585-gallon tanks maintained at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Filled with water direct from the canal, except for heating, the water is screened to exclude some larger organisms. In that water, through winter, oysters spawn much earlier than they would in nature, said David Jones, laboratory researcher, hatchery operations. In nature such spawning would take place in April or May. Those tanks have insulated tops retain warmth, as the rest of the building is unheated.
“No chemicals can be used because all the water used must be returned to the canal,” Jones said on a July 18 tour of the center. He is one of three full-time employees. In season, four others join the staff, Jones said.
Among interns were two from Rutgers University, two from Lower Cape May Regional High School and one from Cape May Technical School.
Overhead, a maze of PVC pipes delivers salt water to tanks. In them, juvenile oysters grow from what appears like gravel to about a quarter to a half inch. When they reach that size, they are able to be sold to oyster farmers, such as members of the Cape May Oyster Cooperative. They will tend those oysters over the next two years as they grow to market size.
A south-facing room, lined with windows, and filled with fluorescent lights, is where algae is grown in 12 glass cylinders that resemble huge test tubes, perhaps three or four feet tall. Younger algae are yellowish green while more mature algae are brown. Once ready, buckets of that dark liquid are drawn from the cylinders and poured into oyster tanks. It is that algae that oysters will feed on to grow, giving a good start to their life.
Jones notes that Rutgers University Food Science Department is looking into other uses for algae, other than just oysters, since it grows so readily.
Jones said the smallest seed oysters would cost between $8 and $10 per 1,000. Those are the least expensive. Larger oysters, with greater chance of survival, are somewhat more costly, due to the time taken to grow them.
He noted that cooperative members are testing to see which age group works best for them. The cooperative has its own nursery. “That’s part of the economic project,” he said.
A drum-like container, perhaps about five-gallon size, contained about 900,000 oysters.
“They are so small, they have to be raised in filtered water,” he said. “Our goal is to get them out of raw sea water as soon as possible. This is the first stage after they swim, about two to three weeks,” Jones said.
Bins of those maturing oysters, like a human nursery, require constant attention. Water must flow as nutrients are taken in by the tiny creatures. From the center, oysters change ownership to cooperative members or commercial grower.
From there, it’s out into the rigors of Delaware Bay, not far north from where the oysters began life. There, they will grow in plastic mesh bags, and be sorted over and over, until, after about two years; they reach about two inches, which is considered a marketable size.
They will finally be sold to wholesalers and restaurants, which feature the local variety of oyster on their menu. Through each stage of growth, oysters help Cape May County’s economy, providing employment as they provide a renewable food source.
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