6.2 OPERATIONAL LABOUR REQUIREMENTS
Running costs for the entire operation are given in Table 6.2 below. These costs are shown as percentages, as prices and salaries vary widely among countries, and should provide a basis for assessing operational costs for a region.
Running costs include electricity, replacement of equipment and consumables. The percent labour column results from an evaluation of the time involved in carrying out the tasks necessary for rearing of scallops at each phase of its life cycle. Both running and labour percentages are given for a 12-month period and are based on the hatchery operating at full capacity, yielding a production of 600 000 to 800 000 spat per year, of 2–9 mm shell height and ready for transfer to the field. It can be seen from Table 6.2 that highest running costs are associated with the larval rearing (hatchery) phase and the growout phase (juveniles to adults). The algal culture phase is least expensive in running costs due in part to the reliance on dry algae for the nursery phase (see Chapter 4). Running costs for the nursery phase are dependent on duration of spat rearing and the strategy followed for transfer to the field. Labour requirements follow a similar trend with the highest requirements during the larval rearing (hatchery) and growout. These requirements are based on rearing larvae in a conventional static system where water is changed every other day; it is anticipated that changing to a flow-through system would reduce the labour requirements for this phase (see Chapter 3).
Growout is the most labour intensive part of the operation in Bermuda although needs are not distributed evenly throughout the twelve months and occur in bursts. For example, according to the cycle described in Bermuda, where larvae are reared in the winter months and spat are
transferred to the field in early summer, growout is most intensive during the summer months at the beginning of this phase. By late fall (October/November) growout requirements are much reduced.
Table 6.2: Operational costs as a percentage of time for full time aquaculture activities from spawning to growout.
