A day of knowledge transfer on new technologies to improve the production and availability of Northern Oyster seeds is what the CentroAquaPacífico developed for small aquaculturists in Tongoy. The activity was developed within the framework of the FIC project that seeks to contribute to reducing this productive gap.
One of the great desires of local pectin farming is to be able to solve a problem that has accompanied them for years and that is related to the seasonal dependence for the production of oyster seeds, caused mainly by the natural reproductive cycle that this species has and that It concentrates annually between spring and summer.
This is how the project “Technology for the continuous production of Northern Oyster seeds” was born, an initiative financed with Innovation Funds for Competitiveness (FIC) of the Regional Government of Coquimbo, awarded to the Aquaculture Innovation Center – AquaPacífico and led by Dr. Hernán Pérez, R&D coordinator of the center.
The project seeks to generate a technological process that allows solving the productive gap in Northern Oyster seeds (Argopecten purpuratus), through continuous production under controlled growing conditions in the period of low production, that is, between the months of April to September.
Dr. Hernán Pérez points out that unlike the oyster industry in Tongoy in the 90’s and early 2000’s, the amount of oysters present in Tongoy Bay has decreased noticeably, this causes, among other factors, a decrease in the collection of seeds, therefore, their availability is scarce or variable.
“In this sense, the contribution of the project is that through innovative technologies it is possible to regulate, to a certain extent, seed production, being able to count on these in a more continuous manner. Obviously, the quantities could be lower than those normally obtained from natural collection. However, these seeds produced in periods of low availability are more valuable and may have a higher price in the market,” he indicates.
Workshop for associated APEs
In this context, the workshop titled “Transfer of knowledge to APE producers for the continuous cultivation of Northern Oyster seeds” was recently held, a meeting directed by Small-Scale Aquaculturists associated with the project, who were able to learn in situ about the aquaculture infrastructure implemented for the oyster seed production in the winter months.
The activity sought to increase the linkage of organizations with aquaculture production capacities associated with cutting-edge technologies, such as recirculation systems and production of microalgae in photobioreactors. Hoping to demonstrate that these technologies are not far from their productive environment and will soon be commonly used for aquaculture.
“The representatives of these groups were shown how photobioreactors work, their characteristics and advantages in relation to what currently exists. In addition, a recirculation system was shown for the maintenance and maturation of reproducers. Associated with this, the use of a recirculation system for the cultivation of northern oyster larvae and postlarvae was also described,” explains the project director.
For her part, the Administrator of the Pescamar SA Commercial Society, Tania Cerda, related that during the years of work within the organization she has seen how the environmental dynamics in Tongoy Bay have changed and with it the availability of oyster seeds.
“Currently, to provide ourselves with seeds we have had to buy them in the north of the country, this has caused some deaths to be generated when moving them (due to stress) and the production process has also become more expensive. Therefore, it would be a great contribution if we could access oyster seeds locally and in the most complex months,” he assured.
