Economic Analysis

From the industry perspective, the primary goal of the current Virginia Seafood Council (VSC) trial is to analyze the economic feasibility of using triploid non-native oysters in aquaculture.

VSC growers will use four different grow-out methods as part of the project. In order to conduct controlled comparisons and to ultimately develop meaningful relative evaluations of the different methods, VSC Project Manager A.J. Erskine will collect budget and operating details from each grower regularly throughout the trial using data sheets developed by economist Tom Murray. Murray is a Marine Business and Coastal Development Specialist in the Virginia Sea Grant Program at VIMS. Murray will complete the economic analysis utilizing these data and release them at his discretion and with permission from the growers.

Each VSC grower will regularly be asked to provide data on the fabrication, deployment, maintenance, and management of their field equipment to obtain information on the primary tasks associated with intensive oyster culture through grow-out and harvest. Completing the data collection during each site visit will allow the compilation of an overall grow-out budget for the particular method of deployment attempted.