Sheltered at the remote Crocheron location, USA, the hatchery team of Hoopers Island Oyster Co. completed the first oyster seed spawn of the season. The company grows eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) native to the North American waters of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. They’re disease-resistant, natural triploids originating from broodstock selectively bred at the Virginia Institute for Marine Sciences (VIMS).

Broodstock were conditioned over eight weeks. The hatchery uses eggs from diploid females and sperm from tetraploid males. The larvae setting rate is of 15% to 20%. The juvenile oysters will be reared at the Hoopers Island nursery for eventual grow-out and seed will be available for sale to fellow oyster farmers along the Atlantic seaboard from New Jersey to North Carolina.

The hatchery partnered with Algafeed to produce algae to condition broodstock. They are conducting onsite trials to identify the optimum feed for the seed.