HERRING 



STUDIES OF THE RESOURCE — Investigations 

 of the herring resource are conducted at 

 Boothbay Harbor. Research now in progress 

 is aimed at developing serological, biochem- 

 ical, genetic, and other methods for identify- 

 ing fish populations. Movements of herring 

 are also being studied through tagging and 

 periodic surveys. Increased emphasis on sur- 

 veys of larval abundance and distribution is 

 planned. Biological research on this impor- 

 tant fishery will be increased in future years 

 to obtain fundamental information that will 



OYSTERS 



STUDY OF THE RESOURCE — Present research 

 on oysters at Milford and Oxford is coordi- 

 nated with the oyster programs of the States 

 of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and 

 Delaware. Investigations are underway to 

 determine the effects of environment, preda- 

 tion, and disease on oyster survival and to 

 find methods of combatting catastrophic 

 losses. At the Milford laboratory research is 

 being continued on the physiology and ecol- 

 ogy of the oyster and on methods of arti- 

 ficially growing seed and mature oysters. 

 These programs will be bolstered during the 



SEA SCALLOPS 



STUDY OF THE RESOURCE— At the laboratory 

 in Woods Hole the sea scallop resource is 

 being investigated. During the first year of 

 the program, research will be continued on 

 environmental factors and their relationship 

 to abundance and recruitment. Included also 



enable prediction of absolute and relative 

 abundance. Studies of herring diseases and 

 parasites will also be increased. 



DEVELOPING GEAR — An effective air curtain 

 device for guiding inshore fish has been 

 developed by Bureau scientists. The future 

 program includes development and evalua- 

 tion of gear for catching offshore herring. 

 Survey work also is planned to define the 

 limits of the herring resource. 



first year by large-scale studies on the use of 

 chemical compounds for controlling oyster 

 predators. 



At the laboratory in Oxford research is 

 currently underway on shellfish mortality, 

 culture, and ecological and physiological 

 studies. Expansion of this research to include 

 artificial propagation and advanced culture 

 techniques is planned. Emphasis will be 

 placed on basic studies of oyster biology and 

 techniques for producing disease-resistant 

 strains of seed and mature oysters. 



are studies of diseases and parasites and de- 

 velopment of methods for managing the val- 

 uable sea scallop resource. This research is 

 to be continued in the future. 



IMPROVING THE MARKET— The unusually 



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