harvested from public reefs either by tongs or picked 

 by hand, with dredging allowed on leased beds. The 

 future of the Florida oyster industry lies in the culti- 

 vation of the private leases (Ingle and Whitfield. 

 1962). 



The Florida Department of Natural Resources 

 has several research projects related to oyster 

 aquaculture (Florida Department of Natural Re- 

 sources, 1970) — one is oyster nutrition and the other 

 is oyster reef modification. Some success has been 

 obtained in fattening oysters with finely ground 

 commeal. These studies are continuing in conjunc- 

 tion with learning optimal conditions (temperature, 

 salinity, and other parameters) for fattening oysters. 



Florida is presently studying the modification of 

 natural reefs to improve their oyster production. 

 Artificial gaps are being cut in the reefs. Oysters 

 planted in these cut-out areas have shown excellent 

 growth. Florida, through federal aid PL 88-309, is 

 also constructing artificial oyster reefs using oyster 

 shells and limestone slag. Some excellent sets have 

 been obtained on the planted cultch. 



One commercial company at Cedar Key, Fla., is 

 attempting to grow strings of oysters from rigid 

 structures (Robinson, 1971). Some problems have 

 occurred resulting from the oysters falling off the 

 strings. To solve this problem, portable racks have 

 been built with bottoms to catch the oysters that fall 

 off 



Similar to studies in North Carolina, attempts are 

 being made to catch and grow oysters on tire beads at 

 Cedar Keys. Fla. In this case the tire beads and 

 configuration have been patented. It is not known if 

 the operation is successful. 



Alabama 



The oyster industry of Alabama is based upon 

 natural repopulations of public reefs which include 

 about 3.064 acres (May. 1971). In addition, there are 

 approximately 2,000 acres of private bottoms, but 

 they yield only 12% of Alabama's total oyster 

 production (annual average from 1948 to 1968 was 

 1 .2 million pounds of meats). Lack of seed has kept 

 private production down. All of the oysters from 

 public reefs are harvested with hand tongs; however, 

 harvesting from private beds can be accomplished 

 with dredges. 



Very little attempt has been made to try to moder- 

 nize the .Alabama oyster industry. May ( 1969) inves- 

 tigated the feasibility of off-bottom oyster culture. 

 Both rack and raft methods were tested. .Mthough 



excellent growth was obtained, he found the off- 

 bottom culture was not economically feasible be- 

 cause of high production costs and low market value. 

 The Alabama Marine Resources Laboratory at 

 Dauphin Island constructed a '4-acre tidal pond to 

 study the commercial rearing of oysters. In 1968, 

 oysters were placed in the pond and after 12 mo the 

 oysters had increased in height from 18 mm to 101 

 mm. Ninety-one percent were legal size after SVd 

 mo of growth. It is not known if studies were con- 

 tinued. 



Mississippi 



The entire Mississippi oyster production comes 

 from public reefs (about 3,000 acres), there are no 

 private leases (Maghan, 1967). Annual production 

 fluctuates considerably because of adverse weather 

 conditions, leveeing of the Mississippi River, pred- 

 ators, and disease. As an example of these fluctua- 

 tions, production in 1968 was 3.8 million pounds of 

 meats while in 1970 only 547,000 pounds were 

 landed. Except for extensive plantings of shells and 

 seed oysters, there has been little attempt to moder- 

 nize the oyster industry of Mississippi. 



Louisiana 



In 1970, Louisiana produced 8. 1 million pounds of 

 oyster meats, second in the nation to Maryland. 

 Roughly 70-80% of the oysters are canned (Matthies- 

 sen. 1970b). Louisiana has a well-managed industry 

 based on privately owned or leased bottoms, approx- 

 imately 83,000 acres, plus state-owned areas 

 (450,000 acres) set aside as a source of seed oysters 

 (St. Amant, 1964). Growers are allowed to gather 

 wild seed for planting on their leased grounds. All 

 oysters are grown on the bottom and no attempt has 

 been made to try off-bottom techniques. 



The Louisiana Marine Laboratory on Grand 

 Terre Island has several projects (federal aid PL 

 88-309) related to oyster culture. These studies in- 

 clude the reestablishment of historical seed grounds 

 and control of the Southern oyster drill, Thais 

 haemostoina. Both projects are still in progress so 

 final results are not available. 



At Grand Terre Island. 16 '4-acre ponds were 

 constructed on existing marsh floor. The levees 

 were enclosed by two asbestos bulkheads that were 

 supported by creosote posts and tied together by 

 galvanized steel rods. Besides oysters, brown and 

 white shrimp plus selected fishes are being cultured 



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