A collaborative partnership to address mass mortalities in oyster aquaculture through improved field monitoring, husbandry practices, and workforce development

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Emily Carrington (University of Washington)

CO-INVESTIGATORS: Matthew George (University of Washington), Sara Smith (Bellingham Technical College), Neil Thomson (United States Department of Agriculture), Nathan Tsao (Jamestown Point Whitney Ventures LLC.), Mackenzie Gavery (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration), Laura Kraft (Washington State University), Steven Roberts (University of Washington)

The anticipated arrival of the viral pathogen Ostreid herpesvirus 1 (OsHV-1) within the coastal and inland waters of Washington state represents an existential threat to shellfish aquaculture. Viral outbreaks triggered by a warming ocean are expected to generate catastrophic oyster mortality events due to their co-occurrence with episodic periods of low survivorship (i.e., summer mortality) and extreme climate events (i.e., marine and aerial heat waves).

This project forms a collaborative partnership made up of academic (UW: University of Washington, BTC: Bellingham Technical College, Maritime High School), industry (Taylor Shellfish Co., Nisbet Oyster Co., Westcott Bay Shellfish Co.), federal (USDA, NOAA), and tribal (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe) stakeholders who have the knowledge, expertise, and resources to safeguard aquaculture production by improving the climate tolerance of OsHV-1 resilient oyster lines currently being developed by the USDA. Intended learning outcomes include a climate risk assessment model for use by Washington shellfish growers, a commercially viable husbandry protocol that enhances oyster heat tolerance and field survival, and an enhanced aquaculture workforce training curriculum designed to empower the next generation of shellfish technicians to address the challenges that climate-disease interactions pose to the Washington state industry.