Report of the Working Group on Marine Shellfish Culture (WGMASC)

The 5th meeting of the Working Group on Marine Shellfish Culture (Chair: Peter J. Cranford, Canada) was held Halifax (Canada) and was attended by 11 participants. ToR a) This ToR deals with the issue of unexplained mortality in shellfish and the 2007 objective was to produce a diagnostic tool that the shellfish aquaculture sector could use as a model to monitor and deal with mortality issues. An operational flowchart and set of working tables were developed to assess the types of mortality that a shellfish grower might encounter in the field and what may have caused these losses. These were designed to be practical in nature and to be used by farmers and resource managers. Simple measurements were recommended although more complex approaches may be warranted. A monitoring system was also recommended to allow for early detection of problems and to provide a point of reference for future changes in shellfish production. Additional steps need to be taken to make the diagnostic tool functional for aiding in the identification of causes of mortality in cultured shellfish. First, the tables need to be peer reviewed and shellfish industry input is required. Second, the diagnostic tool should be published and distributed to the farmers (e.g. through producer organisations) and local managers in the languages of ICES countries. We recommend that an ICES Cooperative Research Report be prepared on this topic with science peer review by relevant working groups under the direction of the MCC (Section 3; linkages to MCC, ACME, WGPDNO, WGEIM).