industry • Strong competitors for food and space • Impacts on retention, yield, production and processing costs • Blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) major problem
operational problems • How can be avoid? Long term and seasonal patterns Model response to drivers Forecast and inform farmers Blue = Bad Green = Good
in green spat, with a downward trend in the last decade • Strong seasonality • Blues spat prefer shallow waters • Env drivers • Identified areas of better green/blue ratio
Incorporate other drivers (e.g. rainfall, exposure level, turbidity, farm density, etc.) • Make information available to mussel farmers as means through a web application
work Rodney Roberts (Spat NZ), Kevin Heasman, Lauren Fletcher Funded by New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment under Contract CAW1315 (Enabling, Growing and Sec NZ's Shellfish Aquaculture Sector)