Funded by the Nereus Program as part of the Ocean Link Northwest communications project, this video centers around a shellfish grower in Willapa Bay in southwestern Washington. Graduate students Michael Quinlan and Rachel Lee worked with the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association to show the symbiotic relationship between shellfish farms and the rural communities where they’re located.

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Excerpt: The potential spread of disease from farmed oysters to wild oysters is a frequent concern for oyster producers and consumers alike. Contrary to common perceptions, new UMBC research in Aquaculture Environment Interactions has found that properly managed oyster aquaculture operations can actually help limit the spread of disease among wild oysters.

“This is another line of evidence saying that oyster aquaculture can be a good thing,” says Colleen Burge, assistant professor of marine biotechnology at UMBC, and a co-author on the study.

“The established way of thinking is that disease spreads from aquaculture, but in fact aquaculture may limit disease in nearby wild populations,” adds Tal Ben-Horin, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rhode Island and the lead author on the study.

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Congratulations Nyle Taylor

Nyle Taylor: This photo was taken by our divers off the east side of Harstine Island. In the background, you can just make out the shadows of two of our divers working to install mesh tubes underwater. In the process, schools of shiner perch and flounder are attracted into our work site to feed on organisms that have been brought to the surface of the sand through the tube installation process. The fish dart in and out from between the tubes. Despite our diver’s presence, the fish are highly active, even right in the vicinity of their work.

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