Lesson KEY - Tides, Farming Considerations & Growth Rates
Lesson Worksheet - Tides, Farming Considerations & Growth Rates
Shellfish Identification Sheet
Washington Sea Grant: Small Scale Oyster Farming
Shellfish Aquaculture: Tides, Farming Considerations & Growth Rates
Overview
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work on a shellfish farm? Bring students to the beach to explore shellfish habitat and participate in aquaculture activities! In this lesson, students will gain a practical understanding of tides; evaluate farm gear, biofouling and predators; measure shellfish and calculate growth and mortality rates. Students should leave the beach with an appreciation of the ecological and economic importance of shellfish in Washington state.
This lesson is best suited for a beach with shellfish aquaculture gear. However, it can easily be adapted for a beach where shellfish (or surface shells) are present. All resources are available for download.
This lesson was supported by funding from Career Connect Washington (in partnership with Pacific Education Institute), Inspire Olympia and Smart Sustainable Shellfish Aquaculture Management (S3AM).
Preview
This lesson can be adapted for the classroom by using the "Before You Go!" lesson, printing tide charts, and collecting items to measure such as shells, rocks, etc. for the Growth Rate calculations.
Contact Pacific Shellfish Institute (psi@pacshell.org) to request Word documents of lesson materials for making personal modifications.