A mussel farm is built using a series of collector and grow out ropes on a grid of main ropes supported by buoys. - ContributedTwo months after tropical storm Fiona swept through Atlantic Canada, some Prince Edward Island mussel and oyster farmers are still tallying up their losses and contemplating the challenges that lie ahead.
He explained mussel and oyster spat is collected in the summer — the spat stocks to submerged collector ropes. Gradually little mussels grow, until late in the fall when they are large enough to be stripped off the collector rope and placed in mesh socks to continue growing. The aquaculture industry has been lobbying for years to be considered as an agriculture business, with eligibility for crop insurance.“I must put this in comparison to a farm. In the aquaculture industry . . .we plant that stuff; we grow them species to a market. No different than planting corn or potatoes in a field,” he said.
For the last eight years, Nolan, left, Jonah and Ellis Ferrish have made and sold Christmas ornaments to raise money for Prince County Hospital. - Kristin Gardiner Despite the challenges created by the September storm, not every farmer in every area was impacted, and shipments of oyster and mussels continue.