Hatchery Spat Webinar
Online webinar to answer oyster farmers questions around hatchery spat
Community Participation - LP041-006
The issue
With the detection of the Sydney Rock Oyster QX disease in Port Stephens in August 2021, many farmers are faced with significant stock losses and mortality. For any QX affected estuary the only solution to keep the business going with Sydney Rock oysters is investing in QX resistant spat from the NSW DPI Breeding Program. However, many farmers, especially smaller scale businesses don’t have experience in ordering spat directly through hatcheries as they normally use wild-caught spat. To address these concerns, we conceived a webinar for oyster farmers to come and hear firsthand from hatchery personnel and NSW DPI staff.
The solution
An online webinar was held on Wednesday 22 September 2021 on zoom with hatchery staff and DPI breeding program staff. There was an update on the Sydney Rock oyster breeding program, an update from a NSW hatchery, as well as a farmer with small in house nursery experience sharing his knowledge. Farmers were able to ask questions around ordering spat from hatcheries and how to deal with smaller spat on farm by creating their own in-house small nursery systems.
The impact
The webinar saw 32 attendees and was very well received by the industry, especially in a stressful time of new disease detection and provided a forum to come together and exchange ideas and concerns and ask questions in a time where meetings were very limited due to COVID. The webinar was also shared through the Australian Oysters Facebook page, as well as on the NSW Oysters Website and Oyster Newsletter. It gave oyster farmers the confidence to look into developing their own in-house nurseries and think about putting orders in through hatcheries for QX resistant spat.
Key facts
- Online webinar to address oyster industry concerns about spat availability and spat handling provided oyster farmers with an opportunity to ask questions about spat supply to hatcheries and farmers who have experience in dealing with small spat.
- 32 attended online and webinar was recorded and archived on NSW Oyster Website
- Received positive feedback from attendees