NORA Production Group

The NORA Production Working Group met online on September 22nd 2021.

The NORA Production Working Group held an informal meeting for O. edulis seed growers and those who would like to be informed about the production. The meeting provided a platform for exchanging information about the available products (e.g. qualitatively: spat-on-shell, single seed, spat-on-reef, larvae, gametes; quantitatively; disease and genetical status), the problems encountered (all types of problems, e.g. technical, educational, logistic, diseases, sales/orders, etc.), as well as a possible outlook of the production this year and/or next year.

The NORA Production Working Group met online on Friday Dec 4^th 2020

The Production Working Group will meet with an exciting agenda. The meeting kicked off with a series of talks from both restoration practitioners and representatives of the oyster growing industry. The talks were focused on exchanging knowledge about the practicalities of restoring oyster habitats and the practicalities of rearing and growing oysters. Following the presentations there were chaired discussions, giving restoration and industry partners the opportunity to voice any questions and comments about current practices in both fields of expertise.

Two outputs are being developed from the meeting. First, a brief report in two parts outlining facts members of the oyster production industry found useful to know about restoration practice, and the second outlining information about oyster production identified as useful to know by oyster restoration practitioners. 

The working group is a forum for open communication regarding the information needed for the two groups to work effectively together in the future. The field of oyster restoration is growing in scope, scale and enthusiasm. Yet throughout the NORA network, the supply of native oyster adults and seed is frequently cited as a limitation in planned restoration projects. We aim to bring growers and restoration practitioners together to explain their mutual aims, requirements and timelines. The second output will be a policy brief summarising the critical points raised by the Working Group. The following topics may be included:

1. the environmental benefits of producing oysters in aquaculture and habitat restoration, 
2. overview of the demand for native oysters from restoration projects, 
3. the current knowledge gaps in meeting native oyster production for restoration, and 
4. the possible strategies for supporting payments to scaling up the production of oyster seed for oyster restoration (e.g. payment for ecosystem services, government support).

A full report of the Working Group meeting can be downloaded here:  Report-Production-Group-Dec-2020.pdf. The meeting products are still in development and will be released in due course.