Shellfish farmers face complex challenges in optimizing production across multiple variables, and with so many factors affecting oyster performance at Hog Island Oyster Company (HIOC), traditional production tracking methods often lack the resolution needed for data-driven management decisions.
In this presentation, we discuss how HIOC has adapted mark-recapture techniques commonly used in fisheries management (like RFID tagging in salmon and floy tagging in cod) to track oysters through their growth cycle. Additionally, by implementing a tagging system at the point of gear closure, we can trace individual groups of oysters from initial deployment through harvest while accounting for variables such as genetics, ploidy, seed size, planting date, gear type, and location. This methodology provides granular data on mortality rates, growth performance, and size class distribution across different production scenarios, enabling more informed decision-making for farm management in a changing climate.