The off-bottom cage culture commercial oyster farming industry has seen significant growth in the last few years and with that there are tools and publications that have been developed to increase the sustainability and resilience of these companies. This presentation will provide a brief overview of these products such as online training courses, the Oyster Farming Resilience Index, Storm Preparation, the Oyster Community of Practice and the Commercial Oyster Aquaculture Sector Training Program. Additionally, there have been recent changes to USDA/RMA programs that are available to the industry that will be mentioned.
While these materials are intended to be used by commercial oyster farmers in the Gulf of America, they are also applicable to other species and in other areas of the country. Oyster farming using containerized gear systems is relatively new industry in parts of the Gulf and this presentation is intended to raise awareness of the information available to those interested in or already participating in the industry to help them with decision-making and increase the opportunities for success.