Culebra Native Oyster Aquaculture Project
Led by Mujeres de Islas & Asociación Pesquera de Culebra
In collaboration with:
Puerto Rico Sea Grant, Sociedad Ambiente Marino, Conservación Conciencia, UAGM, ISER Caribe, Protectores de Cuencas Funded by
Why oyster farming in Puerto Rico?
The goal: Enhance livelihood resilience and food security in Culebra, PR
Overarching question: What are the socio-economic and environmental opportunities and constraints for a local oyster industry?
● Obj 1: Spat collection
● Obj 2: Grow-out
● Obj 3: Marketing
● Obj 4: Fisher engagement
Timeline: January 2024 - December 2026
Optimizing spat collection efforts: spatiotemporal
differences in oyster settlement
Optimizing spat collection efforts: spatiotemporal differences in oyster settlement
Crassostrea rhizophorae
Mainly inshore sites during
Year-round settlement
Both inshore & exposed sites
Peaks in November and December
Pinctada imbricata
Aquaculture farm siting considered sensitive habitats
Inshore Site
Exposed Site
Demographic performance of both species recorded
Market Survey: Supply chain for oysters in Puerto Rico
Market Survey: Willingness to Pay for farmed oysters
Table 1: Average willingness to pay for a dozen farmed oysters in USD for mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae) and Atlantic pearl oysters (Pinctada imbricata) for all survey responses.
Species
Crassostrea rhizophorae $19.18 (±6.85 SD) n=102
of all responses
Pinctada imbricata $21.15 (±5.93 SD) n=92
Open Comments:
● Concerns on access to permits and lack of government support.
● Concerns of aquaculture benefits flowing mostly to foreign/large companies.
of all responses
Foster fisher engagement and co-implementation of aquaculture
There is a favorable perception of oyster aquaculture as a complementary livelihood, if it is community-managed, ecologically sound, and does not displace fisherfolk.
Community co-evaluation: perceptions 2-yr into the project
Collaborations on water quality
Protectores de Cuencas:
● Presence of enterococci 8.5 to 831 (MPN/100ml) in Ensenada Honda
Aslín Pagán, Universidad Ana G. Méndez:
● Presence of Vibrios vulnificus & alginolyticus, parahaemolyticus, cholerae) in both species and growout sites.
Oyster depuration tanks in the Villa Pesquera
Effects
of oyster mariculture on fish biodiversity and soundscapes
This is a community led and grounded project
Promising next steps:
● Enhanced spat collection: trialing collector types (low cost materials) and depths (surface collectors, horizontal vs. vertical)
● Hatchery for P. imbricata and seeding pearls
● Depuration efficacy and training: testing for different contaminants and efficiency of depuration/ purification (following FAO manual). Training dedicated technicians
● Transition towards commercial permitting: supporting coastal communities through commercial permitting process (e.g., bona fide fisher exemptions, determining appraisal value & annual lease fee)
Nicolás Gómez Andújar, Principal Investigator, nicolas@mujeredeislas.org
Megan Considine, Principal Investigator, megan@mujeredeislas.org
