shellfish Seed Production
What Species We Grow and When:
The Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group mainly grows three shellfish species: quahogs, oysters, and bay scallops. Broodstock for spawning shellfish is collected for MVSG by the island towns’ Shellfish Departments. Spawning season begins for MVSG in mid April with quahogs. Quahogs are spawned, raised, and the seed is distributed through the month of June evenly among the island towns before oyster spawning season begins in the last week of June. Preceding oyster spawning and distribution in The Great Ponds, The Shellfish Group spawns, raises and distributes bay scallop seed to the towns from late July until the end of the summer hatchery season.
How We Grow Shellfish:
All the species produced by MVSG are spawned and cultured through planktonic larval stages in the solar hatchery. Newly spawned larvae are put in warm, aerated larval tanks until they undergo metamorphosis and start to settle and resemble the shellfish we commonly see them as; this is when they are moved from the larval tanks onto seives in aerated tanks. As they get bigger, shellfish seed graduates from sitting on sieves, and is transferred to MVSG’s other shellfish nurseries in Oak Bluffs (Hughes Hatchery) and Edgartown (Chappaquiddick Nursery) where the shellfish seed is put into larger silos for continued growth. After being given plenty of space to grow, food to consume, and protection from predators, the seed is distributed to and cared for by the Shellfish Departments.
After the seed is divided evenly among the Shellfish Departments, the juvenile shellfish are moved to field nursery systems outside the hatchery and throughout the waters of the member towns. There they grow in warm surface waters protected from predators for one season before being bottom planted on public beds.
Each year the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group publishes a Seed Shellfish Distribution Report. You can find our reports from as far back as 1999 under the "reports" tab.
mvsg seed production numbers 2000-2020