Pacific Hybreed

Pacific Hybreed, based in the Pacific Northwest, is pioneering commercial shellfish breeding programs to benefit US West Coast aquaculture and beyond. The company focuses on creating tools and strategies to improve the yield and resilience of farmed shellfish, addressing the challenges posed by climate change, ocean acidification, and emerging diseases. Pacific Hybreed's proprietary breeding programs target species such as Pacific oysters, Manila clams, and Kumamoto oysters. Their approach leverages crossbreeding and polyploidy techniques to develop high-performing shellfish for regional, national, and global markets.

The company's breeding method differs from traditional selective breeding used in shellfish aquaculture. Pacific Hybreed employs a crossbreeding approach inspired by plant breeding techniques, creating genetically distinct families through pair-mating. This method allows for the enhancement of specific traits such as shell characteristics, depth, cup, and color of oysters. The company's research hatchery is located at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest Fisheries Science Center Research Station in Manchester, Washington, with a production and genetics facility in Kona, Hawaii.

Pacific Hybreed's business model involves developing collaborations with growers to test their hybrid stock against generic oyster seeds. The company plans to quantify the difference in yield between their seeds and generic seeds, taking a percentage of the revenue from any gains produced by their stock. The company aims to create a catalog of different phenotypes available to growers and hatcheries, offering the potential for "designer oysters" tailored to specific preferences.