ll4d 



PHILIP H. PARKER 



of water. For a number of complicated reasons it is 

 quite high in its supply of chemical nutrients; however, 

 it is only recently that studies have progressed to a 

 point where the tremendous fertility and food producing 

 ability of Puget Sound has been truly recognized. Ander- 

 son (1967), studying primary productivity (the basic con- 

 version of chemical nutrients into living plant material) 

 in Puget Sound, comments that primary productivity rates 

 in Puget Sound are among the highest observed in marine 

 waters around the v7orld. Recent work by our laboratory 

 (Westley I967) (Westloy et al 1967) also confirms the 

 amazing fertility or productivity of Puget Sound. 



"Primary productivity (or basic plant 

 production) in the sea is no final solution to the problem 

 of producing food for humans. To be of real value this 

 plant production must be converted to animal protein. 



"It is a well known fact that each time 

 conversion to the next highest step in the food chain 

 occurs, there is a major loss. Therefore, the more times 

 the basic plant production has to be converted before the 

 food can be used for humans, the lower the ultimate produc- 

 tion will be. 



"Because the oyster feeds directly upon 

 the basic plant material, it is one of the most effective 



