Molluscs

While aquaculture is often associated with degrading water quality, invasive species introductions and the destruction of important coastal habitats, increasing evidence suggests that well-designed and managed aquaculture – particularly of shellfish and seawee…

The use of aquaculture-derived waste products to grow secondary crops – such as used in biofloc systems or aquaponics – can increase profits by more than 20 percent, as some of the leading proponents of this field explain.

With demand rising globally, octopus farming is developing apace – but, mindful of both the animals’ welfare and concerns around sustainability, should we be scaling it up at all?

Oyster restoration has long been a priority for The Nature Conservancy. Shellfish serve as nature’s water-purification system, filtering sediment, algae and excess nutrients from the water. Their reefs provide nurseries and feeding grounds for fish and other c…

Long Island’s fledgling sugar kelp farming sector “may unlock a wealth of economic and environmental opportunities for coastal communities”.

Extreme weather events and changing ocean conditions are creating unpredictable outcomes for aquaculture. One area where research is offering some insight into what to expect, though, is the increasing incidences of disease.

In the second part of the feature, Professor Ross Houston, who is currently involved in using gene editing to improve resistance to diseases in salmon, explains the barriers – technical, regulatory and ethical – that need to be overcome before such techniques …

Dennis Hedgecock, founder of Pacific Hybreed, hopes to bring cutting-edge breeding science to the US west-coast shellfish sector, to ensure the long-term success of a pivotal industry.

The recurring boom-and-bust cycles in aquaculture production, where upscaling leads to diseases and eventual production collapse, have been one of the key factors in the declining rate of the industry's growth over the past 15 years.

Originally from Brittany, Marie-Aude Danguy has been living and working in Ireland since the 1990s. She began working with a group of local shellfish farmers before establishing her own company, Triskell Seafood Ltd, which specialises in live shellfish.

The true value of cultured bivalves such as mussels and oysters is chronically underestimated, according to a new report.