What’s at stake?

In Zanzibar, Tanzania, most people live on less than two dollars per day. Shellfish collecting is a task traditionally done by women in Zanzibar and if a woman is able to build a small shellfish farming operation, she can dramatically improve the health and economic prospects for herself and her family.

Shellfish aquaculture in the coastal waters of East Africa holds great potential to provide a stable, healthy source of protein and as well as new economic opportunities for entire communities, so long as up-to-date knowledge and equipment are available. To date, however, very little shellfish aquaculture is practiced in Zanzibar because of a lack of shellfish hatcheries, which provide shellfish seed to farmers, and a lack of technical knowledge about how to best farm and manage shellfish stocks.

What’s the solution?

The Island Creek Oysters Foundation has been involved with WHOI scientist Hauke Kite-Powell’s Zanzibar shellfish hatchery since 2008 as funders and collaborators. We have contributed about $500,000 to the project while also sending many of our experienced Duxbury staff to the Zanzibar project over the years, to aid in the construction, and now in the training, of local staff to run it.

Currently, Island Creek is funding experienced American hatchery managers to travel to Zanzibar for a number of weeks to train staff, implement standard operating procedures, and help Zanzibari staff and students from SUZA spawn shellfish and achieve commercial scale production.

How you can help.

With your gift:

• We will increase seed production capacity at the hatchery to about 10 million clam seed per year, which should translate into additional income of $100/year for several hundred shellfish farmers in Zanzibar, many of whom are women supporting families.
• We will supply much-needed equipment to bring the training hatchery up to full capacity.
• We will send staff from U.S. shellfish growing companies, like those at Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury, MA, to Zanzibar to help train hatchery staff and growers. Most importantly, your gift will support the training of the next generation of hatchery operators and lay the foundation for expanding shellfish aquaculture along the coast of Tanzania and other parts of East Africa.

Some specific ways you can help:

$200: One week's operating expenses for the entire hatchery
$100: One year's supply of bacteria testing materials
$50: Shipping fresh algae cultures to Zanzibar
$10: One day's food budget for hatchery trainers