RAFT CULTURE OF OYSTERS IN MASSACHUSETTS 



By William N. Shaw, Fishery Research Biologist 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 



The liarvest of o^ysters in tlie United States has 

 dropped more than 50 percent during tiie past 

 50 years. For tlie decade 1893-1902, the annual 

 harvest of oyster meats averaged 164.9 million 

 pounds, but for 1943-5-2 it was only 76.8 million 

 pounds ( Galtsoff, 1956 ) . An even greater decrease 

 has occurred in Massachusetts. Figure 1 shows 



in 1200 



u. 1000 



< 400- 



FiGUKE 1. — Ten-year annual average of oysters marketed 

 in Massachusetts, 1880-1060. 



that in this State the annual average harvest of 

 1,222,500 pounds of oyster meats during the ten 

 year period 1910-19 has fallen to the present low 

 level of 204,700 pounds (1950-59), a decline of 

 83.3 percent. Since 1952 this trend has continued 

 at a substantially higher rate and only 113,000 

 pounds were harvested in 1958, an all-time low for 

 the State (fig. 2). 



I wish to thank Dr. Paul S. Galtsoff for assist- 

 ance in organizing tlie project and for suggestions 

 in prejjaring the manuscript; J. C. Hammond, 

 commercial oyster grower, whose help in construc- 



UJ 



z 



Q 



Z 



o 

 a. 



(/> 

 o 



z 

 < 

 in 



z> 

 o 



X 



1950 51 52 53 



54 55 

 YEAR 



56 57 58 59 



Figure 2. — Annual harvest of oysters In .Massachusetts, 

 1!>.50-.j8. 



tion and maintenance of the raft made this project 

 possible; Gilbert (^ovell, commercial oyster 

 grower, who donated young oysters for the ob- 

 servations. The late Charles Jones, former 

 Chatham shellfish warden, gave permission to use 

 certain areas where oyster spat could be caught. 

 AVithout the cooperation of local oyster growers 

 and officials the project could not liave been carried 

 out. Robert K. Rrigliain fiirni.shed the photo- 

 graphs and Frank A. Bailey made the drawings. 



Note. — Fishery Kulletin I'.l". Appnivpil for piililicntion .Tiini' 

 .'iO, 1961. 



481 



