Revised oyster manual hits the shelves

Alaska Sea Grant has once again written the book on oyster cultivation in Alaska. Literally.

We’ve released The New Alaska Oyster Growers Manual, the definitive guide to cultivating oysters in the Last Frontier. It’s a comprehensive update of a volume that has been helping both prospective and active oyster farmers since the early 1980s.

“This update was a direct request from the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association to Alaska Sea Grant, and we made sure to address knowledge gaps and identify updates that were brought to our attention,” said Rachel French, an Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow and primary author of the manual. “We’ve included new technologies and developments in growout gear, processing equipment, and farm management.”  

The 158-page illustrated manual is available from Alaska Sea Grant as a free PDF or as a printed publication, which will be available for free for a limited time. The book covers all phases of the oyster farming process, from site selection to post-harvest processing, and also includes a section on business planning and supplementary resources such as lists of fees and hazard planning worksheets. French said she and the other authors put in extensive work to make the book readable and accessible.

“Feedback from the previous version included that it was too dense and difficult to navigate,” she said. “(Graphic designer) Jessica Whitney and I aimed to include as many visuals as possible to help readers better understand what the text is explaining. Also, the chapters are standalone pieces, meaning growers can flip through to what is most relevant to their operations.”

In addition to French, other authors are mariculture specialist Missy Good, mariculture trainer and technician Arron Jones, and shellfish mariculture specialist James Crimp, all of Alaska Sea Grant. The manual is based on existing literature as well as field interviews and personal communication with Alaskan shellfish farmers, scientists and business owners. 

“I started off with a pretty extensive lit review to build a foundation of my knowledge of the industry,” French said. “From there, I leaned very heavily on Alaskan oyster farmers and their lived experience. I was able to visit a number of farms in person and see how the entire farming process came together.”

The manual was funded by the Alaska Mariculture Cluster, which is supported by a $49 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It builds on the work of 2012’s The Alaska Oyster Growers Manual 4th edition by Ray Ralonde of the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program and Rodger Painter of the Alaska Shellfish Growers Association.