The oysters must make a final effort to survive. However, winter storms often hit the coast of Brittany and can cause the oyster tables to topple over. The oystersвЂ™ growth comes to a standstill as they are sorted by size during the winter, and until they start growing again in the spring. This вЂњshakingвЂќ process enables the oysters to keep an even shaped shell, which becomes stronger and it also toughens them up in order to survive in the harsh natural environment they develop in.ДЄt the end of autumn, the weather becomes harsher and the turquoise colored waters make way to the powerful forces of the wind and the swell. Each low tide, the oyster beds are uncovered by the sea: this is when the oyster farmers start their work, by shaking and turning over the oyster bags. This is the moment when the oysters start their growth by feeding on the micro algae they filter out of the seawater. Depending on their intended use, they spend several weeks to several months in the nursery system before being moved as 'seed oysters' to grow-out or restoration areas.When spring comes, the phytoplankton in the water develops thanks to the sunlight and the minerals carried by the Aber WracвЂ™h river. Juvenile oysters are regularly sorted by size, counted, and re-distributed in the upweller nursery to optimize growth and survival. After about two weeks, they are moved to 'upwellers' in raw seawater and feed on whatever food is naturally available. Newly-metamorphosed oysters are barely visible to the naked eye and are raised in filtered seawater in 'downwellers,' where they are fed cultured algae and grown to a more manageable size. At the AIC, the larvae metamorphose without attaching ('cultchless'), yielding individual oysters ('singles') that are ideal for the half-shell market. In nature, larvae attach to a solid surface such as an adult oyster shell.

Juvenile oysters ('spat')ДЄfter about two weeks, larvae are ready to metamorphose, or change, into 'spat', or juvenile oysters. The water is drained through filter screens that retain the larvae, which are observed for condition, counted, and measured, before being returned to the larval tanks with food and clean water. Larvae at the AIC are raised in filtered, sterilized seawater so microalgae must be added daily as food. Two days after fertilization, oyster larvae already have shells. Larvae are microscopic and free-swimming. The gametes from male and female broodstock are mixed together to allow fertilization of the eggs.ДЇertilized eggs become oyster larvae. A single adult female oyster can produce many millions of eggs in a season. The gametes (eggs and sperm) from ripe broodstock are either released naturally by the oysters or removed surgically. In the Delaware Bay, natural oyster populations tend to reproduce in late June or early July.ДЄt the AIC, broodstock oysters are moved into temperature-controlled tanks in January, given plenty of food (also produced at the AIC) and are ready to reproduce by late February. The 'Rutgers oyster' is fast-growing and disease resistant. At the AIC, most broodstock are a strain of the Eastern oyster ( Crassostrea virginica) developed at Rutgers University. BroodstockД«roodstock are adult oysters (2вЂ“3 years old) used to make baby oysters.

After a few weeks or months, the spat are considered seed oysters. Fertilized eggs become microscopic oyster larvae, which swim freely for about two weeks before metamorphosing, or changing, into oyster 'spat,' or juvenile oysters.

Oyster seed production starts with parent oysters, or broodstock, which provide gametes (eggs and sperm). They can also be used to restore natural oyster populations or natural ecosystems, and for research. Seed oysters are small oysters, about 2вЂ“25 mm long, provided primarily to oyster growers for the half-shell market.

Oyster spat bags