A Maine oyster farm is testing a floating conveyor that moves oyster baskets through water and air

3-Dime sio al
Cultivatio
of
Oyste s
Automated
with
Sola
Tumbli g

E gi ee s
a d
aquacultu e
expe ts
i
mid-coast
Mai e
a e
testi g
a
sola -powe ed
floati g
system
that
could
cha ge
how
oyste s
a e
fa med.
The
platfo m
uses
a
ve tical
co veyo
to
move
oyste
baskets
betwee
coastal
wate s
a d
the
ope
ai .The
system,
called
3D-COAST
(3-Dime sio al
Cultivatio
of
Oyste s
Automated
with
Sola
Tumbli g),
is
desig ed
to
p oduce
up
to
125,000
oyste s
each
yea
f om
a
si gle
8-by-25-foot
floati g
aft.
Its
goal
is
to
i c ease
oyste
p oductio
while
g eatly
educi g
the
physical
wo k
equi ed
f om
fa me s.The
p oject
is
led
by
Luke
Sai do ,
fou de
of
Mai e
aquacultu e
compa y
The
Wo ld’s
You
Oyste
Co.
(TWIYO),
with
help
f om
egio al
scie tific
i stitutio s.Fu di g
eco ds
f om
the
No theast
Sustai able
Ag icultu e
Resea ch
a d
Educatio
(NE
SARE)
p og am
show
that
$29,978
was
awa ded
i
2025
u de
USDA
p oject
subawa d
FNE25-131.
The
fu di g
suppo ts
the
co st uctio
a d
testi g
of
a
imp oved
comme cial
p ototype
th ough
Ma ch
2027.

How
the
ve tical
system
wo ks

T aditio al
oyste
fa mi g
methods
ofte
use
floati g
bags
o
place
oyste s
o
the
seafloo .
These
methods
equi e
la ge
amou ts
of
ho izo tal
space
a d
egula
ma ual
wo k,
i cludi g
flippi g
the
bags
to
co t ol
u wa ted
ma i e
g owth.

The
3D-COAST
aft
uses
about
12
feet
of
wate
depth
i stead.
Oyste
baskets
a e
attached
to
a
ve tical
co veyo
loop
that
is
powe ed
by
two
sola
pa els.The
co veyo
completes
a
full
cycle
eve y
six
hou s.
As
the
baskets
move,
the
oyste s
a e
ge tly
tumbled
u de wate
a d
the
b ought
to
the
su face,
whe e
they
a e
exposed
to
su light
a d
ai .The
tumbli g
helps
shape
the
oyste s.
As
thei
g owi g
shell
edges
a e
chipped,
the
oyste s
ca
develop
deepe
a d
mo e
ou ded
shells,
which
ca
eceive
highe
wholesale
p ices.The
egula
exposu e
to
ai
also
helps
emove
u wa ted
o ga isms
such
as
ba acles,
sea
squi ts
a d
algae.
These
o ga isms
ca
build
up
o
the
cages
a d
educe
the
flow
of
wate
th ough
the
mesh.

Testi g
labo
a d
costs

Oyste
fa mi g
ca
equi e
a
lot
of
physical
labo .
Wo ke s
ofte
have
to
lift
heavy
cages
f om
the
wate ,
ma y
of
which
become
eve
heavie
whe
cove ed
with
ma i e
g owth.Acco di g
to
p oject
epo ts
filed
with
SARE,
the
automated
system
is
desig ed
to
educe
this
physical
wo k
while
also
lowe i g
ope ati g
costs.The
cu e t
stage
of
the
p oject
is
focused
o
testi g
how
eliable
the
system
is
a d
measu i g
how
much
time
it
ca
save
compa ed
with
t aditio al
fa mi g
methods.TWIYO
has
also
developed
a
custom
MATLAB
p oductio
model
a d
desktop
softwa e.
These
tools
allow
fa me s
to
test
diffe e t
stocki g
levels,
labo
equi eme ts
a d
possible
payback
pe iods
usi g
data
collected
f om
the
floati g
aft.The
p oject
has
th ee
mai
goals:

Resea ch
suppo t
a d
e vi o me tal
be efits

The
3D-COAST
system
has
eceived
suppo t
f om
seve al
state
a d
atio al
esea ch
o ga izatio s.Ea ly
testi g
was
suppo ted
by
FocusMai e
a d
the
Mai e
Tech ology
I stitute
(MTI).
The
p oject
late
eceived
Small
Busi ess
I ovatio
Resea ch
(SBIR)
Phase
I
fu di g
f om
the
US
Depa tme t
of
Ag icultu e
(USDA).Othe
g oups
p ovidi g
suppo t
o
tech ical
assista ce
i clude
the
Isla d
I stitute,
the
Mai e
Aquacultu e
Associatio ,
Mai e
Sea
G a t
a d
esea che s
at
the
U ive sity
of
Mai e’s
Da li g
Ma i e
Ce te .The
system
could
also
help
add ess
the
g owi g
competitio
fo
space
i
coastal
wate s.Because
the
aft
g ows
oyste s
ve tically
i stead
of
sp eadi g
them
ac oss
a
la ge
ho izo tal
a ea,
it
could
p oduce
mo e
oyste s
i
a
smalle
footp i t.
This
may
educe
competitio
fo
wate
space
amo g
comme cial
fishe me ,
ec eatio al
boate s
a d
wate f o t
p ope ty
ow e s.
The
smalle
footp i t
could
also
educe
the
visual
impact
of
oyste
fa ms.Field
testi g
of
the
p ototype
will
co ti ue
th ough
the
2026
g owi g
seaso
i
mid-coast
Mai e.
Fi al
data
o
eliability,
labo
savi gs
a d
ove all
efficie cy
a e
expected
i
ea ly
2027.