Shellfish Farm Laborer
Employer
88 Shipping Point Dr
Burgress, VA 22432
United States
Job description
This job requires planting and harvesting oysters through the aquaculture/farming operation. Oysters grow during late spring, summer and early fall months, when water temperatures are above about 50 degrees F. Larvae are purchased from a hatcher and "set" or "struck" onto sand-sized particles of ground oyster shell (cultch). Spat on shell is the process of setting larvae on shells in large setting tanks. loading. Silos are loaded in the tanks with shell, setting larvae in the tanks with no river water only air for two days, then turn on the river water so they can get food to grow. After 7-14 days drain the tanks and plant the tanks on our grounds. The process take places in a downweller, or a tank of circulated and aerated water containing a "sieve" with a mesh size of about 100 microns, or small enough to retain both the larvae and the cultch. Water is circulated into the top of the "sieve" so that it flows down through the mesh, and back into the tank. After few days small amounts of local water containing phytoplankton are added to provide food. After about a week the cultch and attached oysters are transferred to upweller silos, or buckets with plastic mesh on the bottom. Water is forced up through the mesh and the bed of oysters and out the top of the bucket to provide food. All oysters are grown and harvested by the farmer, and on the farm of R&S Seafood. Workers will cultivate, grow and harvest oysters, through the cultivation process; wash seed oysters by hand with hose, grade
oysters on shacking tables or graders, place juvenile oysters in floats or cages for deployment in the water. Workers will remove/harvest, mature oysters. Wash, visually inspect, shuck, count, pack refrigerate and prepare oysters for sale. Redeploy any oysters not ready for harvest back in water; clean, repair and maintain equipment (cages, floats, upweller, silos, trays and other equipment). Cleaning all cage floats and upweller silos of fouling by pressure-washing and hand scrubbing. Workers will be expected to perform all the duties required with accuracy and efficiency. Workers will assist with facility/equipment maintenance and sanitation.
Special Requirements
Persons seeking employment in this position must be available for the entire period requested by the employer. All workers will be subject to a training period of up to ten days during which the employer will evaluate workers' performance of required tasks. Employer reserves the right to terminate a worker if the employer reasonably finds worker's performance during the trial period to be unacceptable. Employer reserves the right to discharge an obviously unqualified worker, malingerer or recalcitrant worker who is physically able but is unwilling to perform the work necessary for the employer to grow a premium quality product, or for any other lawful reason.
The employer may discipline the worker, including brief suspension of work activities/employment for a set period determined by the supervisor or termination of employment.