Thursday April 2, 2014 (Belatedly)

Since I was too tired yesterday I did not write a blog post for yesterday, so today I have a lot to fill in. 

Despite it being a half day yesterday, I got a lot accomplished.  My morning started out with Physics Lab (Physics being my hardest class.), then moved onto a free.  During my free blocks I took water quality then read Managerial Accounting For Dummies.  So far, it is still discussing costs, but I am excited because Chapter 7 showed four different methods of analyzing variable and fixed costs on an excel spreadsheet. 

Later in the day, I looked up Ketcham Traps, a local (New Bedford) business that sells fishing and aquaculture equipment.  I was actually looking for their hours, since I plan to visit them this Saturday.  However, their site was very hard to navigate.  I didn’t end up finding their hours at all, but in the process of trying to find them, I did a lot of very interesting wandering.   

So, there are many different kinds of fixtures you can use to cultivate shellfish.  The first is wire trays or cages that are stacked.  These would be good if your permit grant was located in an area that is relatively shallow, since trying to access these from a boat would be problematic.   

Stacked Wire Cages

The second is Intermas Grow-out Bags or Aqua-float Bags, which are floating mesh bags.  These are easier to access by dock or boat, but if your permit grant were a small area, space would be an issue.  

  

Intermas Oyster Bags

Aqua-float Bags

Finally there is the OysterGro System, which are floating wire cages.  These are almost a cross between the two previous fixtures and seem to be very practical.  Unfortunately there were no prices anywhere on the website, so I will have to go to the warehouse to determine pricing. 

OysterGro System w/ Explanation

Just by looking at the website and comparing the different means of cultivation, I immediately gravitate towards the OysterGro System.  My thought process being that these would be the most convenient and adaptive.  However my gut also told me that these are most likely the more expensive option.  Since my business would be completely start up, I would need to be conservative with my money until I had made some profit.

I am really excited by this train of thought.  It happened around 11 PM last night and it hardly registered, but looking back at it today, it shows how I am already learning.  I never would have taken my “start up situation” into account before beginning my project.  Instead I would have just assumed that the most expensive option would be best in the long run, but now I am able to see how my decisions will affect the outcome of my business.