QUILCENE, Wash. – Shellfish farming contributes more than 100 million dollars to the Northwest economy every year. Oysters make up more than half of the shellfish grown here, and scientists are trying to figure out how to boost that production even more. Ashley Ahearn reports on one new breeding program that’s growing the beefsteak tomato…of oysters.
Joth Davis is the head scientist for Taylor Shellfish – the largest shellfish farming company in the Northwest. We’re standing on the shore of Dabob Bay in Hood Canal.
Joth Davis: “You hear this bubbling. We’re on a system where the water is flowing through some cylindrical tanks that have mesh screen on the bottom. On top of the mesh screen are juvenile oysters and the water is flowing down through the bed of oysters and supplying them with microalgae that they need to grow.”
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