In the shellfish laboratory, studies were made of the 

 movements of drills and conchs in search of food; and the 

 spawning and setting of oysters in Onset and Chatham Bays. 

 A survey of tidal waters of Cape Cod was made with reference 

 to determining the extent of setting of oysters in the estuaries; 

 results showed that oysters set prolifically in almost all 

 protected bays and ponds. Because of the lack of interest and 

 jurisdictional policies exercised by local communities over 

 shellfish grounds, this latent oyster resource is not utilized. 



During the summer of 1952, 10 independent investi- 

 gators spent several weeks each in special studies of various 

 physiological problems. The aquarium and other exhibits, 

 prepared in cooperation with WHOI, were opened to the public 

 during the summer months. The research vessel Albatross III 

 was loaned to WHOI for the year. 



The Laboratory continued to attract scientists from 

 foreign countries. The list of visitors includes marine biologists 

 from Canada, England, Scotland, Thailand, Peru, Norway, 

 Iceland, and India. Nine independent investigators used the 

 facilities of the Laboratory to conduct research on problems 

 of physiology of marine organisms. Six of these received 

 accommodations through an agreement with the MBL for the 

 exchange of facilities of the two institutions. 



On August 31, 1954, hurricane "Carol", the third since 

 1938, struck Woods Hole and caused extensive damages to the 

 Fisheries grounds and buildings. Albatross III, which was moored 

 to the dock when the hurricane struck, was fortunately saved by 

 determined members of the Laboratory staff. The salt-water 

 system, already deteriorated by previous hurricanes, was badly 

 damaged again. No funds were available for a complete re- 

 habilitation of the salt-water pipes and pumps. The aquarium 

 was closed and not reopened until the new one was constructed 

 a few years later. 



The new project undertaken in connection with the study 

 of oceanic fisheries was the investigation of sea scallop, supported 

 by Saltonstall-Kennedy funds. The rapidly expanding scallop 

 fishery reached such proportions that it is now one of the major 

 fish industries in New England. Extensive population studies of 

 sea scallop were instituted under the direction of J. A. Posgay. 



Plankton surveys of the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank 

 were continued by J. Colton and R. Marak with the view of 

 determining the drift of eggs and larvae in the area studied 

 (Colton and Temple, 1961). These observations were supplemented 

 by the release of drift bottles and their returns. To learn about 

 the food habits of haddock, the contents of stomachs of 2, 000 

 fishes taken from 41 locations were studied. 



The haddock investigation was particularly concerned with 

 determining the type of tag most suitable for marking fish and 



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