Courses for Shellfish Growers

Past Courses

In this course, participants learn the basics of growing microalgae (i.e., phytoplankton). The three-day course consists of short lectures and lots of hands-on laboratory activities. The goal of this course is to give growers the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain microalgae cultures for feeding bivalves.

Learning objectives include:

• Identify different phytoplankton species via microscopic examination
• Describe the basic principles of phytoplankton culture using the ”Batch Culture Method”
• Practice essential phytoplankton culture skills
  • Inoculating and scaling up cultures
  • Quantifying cell densities & identifying culture growth phase
  • Calculating feeding densities for bivalve broodstock, larvae, and post-set juveniles
• Describe uses of the high-tech “Pure Biomass” system
• Describe how to purchase equipment needed to assemble and maintain an algal lab