As filter feeders, shellfish like oysters and mussels actively remove particles from surrounding waterways. Following high-risk events such as heavy rainfall or harmful algal blooms, regulators implement precautionary harvest area closures to manage potential food safety risks or implement shellfish movement restrictions to manage potential biosecurity risks. Shellfish farmers in Australia are not currently able to predict the likelihood of a harvest area closure due to these high-risk events.
This project used real time, high-resolution salinity, temperature and depth sensing, combined with novel molecular genetic methods (eDNA), to model oyster food safety, pathogenic bacteria, harmful algae, and oyster growth, with the aim of improving production and harvest management and to reduce harvest closure days for farmers.
Read the final report here.
