RECOVERY OF OYSTER AQUACULTURE INDUSTRIES FROM TSUNAMI INTRODUCING NEW COMPANY ORGANIZATION, NEW TECHNOLOGY, AND SUCCESSFUL R&D FOR INACTIVATING HUMAN NOROVIRUSES & VARIOUS PATHOGENS

Mr. Akira Saitoh

NPO “Marine Party”, (Technical Consultant), Momonoura Oysters Producers LLC (Technical Adviser), Postal Code 161-0032, 1-6-4-403, Nakaochiai Shinju-Ku Tokyo Japan

e-mail: aysaitoh@ric.hi-ho.ne.jp

Key words; HPP, Single Seed Oyster, HNV, Oysters Binding Machine, Session

We applied unique recovery program after all facilities were washed away by Tsunami. In parallel with establishing LLC, different from the traditional management style by fishermen association, we committed to introduce any state of the art technologies and R&D programs into their aquaculture process. Interested in this unique approach, this recovery program has been well supported by government, national institute, local government, and university. It has also brought new products thanks to the combination of new technologies. Multi-function Oyster HPP System was set at the center to start this revolution, firstly to shift the manual shucking process to automated shucking.

As soon as the HPP is smoothly put in the operation, the most important research for inactivating HNV by HPP was started in 2015. Although many articles reported the possibility of inactivating HNV by HPP, the applicable pressure was never realistic (i.e. 600MPa) degrading the quality of oysters. Our careful and repeated tests confirmed the availability of HPP with  lower pressure i.e. 400MPa or even less. This innovative news was just published in FOODBORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASE in July 2017. Further, the interaction between rapid freezings and HPP has brought additional advantage to inactivate HNV.

Besides the inactivation of HNV, the HPP’s effect to kill or reduce various pathogens was re-confirmed through various tests.

These new findings with HPP are giving safer image of oysters in the market, and help very much oyster aquaculture industries as well as consumers.

The HPP treated oyster with shell (shucked) is now positioned as value added products and preferred to by consumer due to no need of shucking.

In order to promote the product “oysters with shell”, it forced us to grow “Single Seed Oyster” different from the traditional aquaculture practice.

It indicated us the necessity of automatic binding machine for oysters with shell. Consequently, we developed the machine by ourselves and succeeded in putting operation June 2017. This is the 1st success for this kind of machine, worldwide. This machine is not only for binding oyster shell, but, at the same time, inserting a label showing the brand with high speed (1.5 sec/piece).