How do the wild and farmed life cycles of shellfish compare?
The first step to culturing shellfish is to select a suitable culture site. Shellfish culture sites are assessed according to suitability and capability. Suitability entails an assessment of viability in terms of socioeconomic, resource use, infrastructural and marketing factors. Capability involves an assessment of the site in terms of environmental (biophysical) parameters. The biophysical variables can be classified according to the way in which they impact upon the culture operation. Temperature and food availability directly affect shellfish growth. Growers should also look at the site at different times of the year to assess the seasonality of the biophysical parameters. The effects of a winter storm on the proposed site, for example, will affect the overall assessment of site capability. Many biophysical variables are taken into account, including such basics as water requirements. These can include water depth, current flow, sheltered location, the proximity of other (local) re
