The Long Island Sound seed-oyster industry, in many cases, is thus a separate 

 enterprise from the growing of market oysters. Seed-oysters, a term which in this 

 area refers to oysters from one to two years old, are grown almost entirely in a 

 strip of water three to five miles wide along a stretch of the Connecticut coast 

 line from Stamford to Branford, where experience has shown conditions are optimum 

 for obtaining a good set of spat. Even here, for reasons not yet apparent, good 

 sets are obtained only about one year in five, and in some years the set is almost 



a total failure. To maintain the supply of market 

 oysters at a profitable level, every effort is 

 made to protect the spat and young oysters from 

 unfavorable conditions and predatory enemies, such 

 as the starfish. 



The starfish opens the oyster by wrapping its 

 rays about the shell and exerting a steady prolonged 

 pull by means of the many "tube-feet" which line 

 the under side of each ray. These tube-feet are 

 capable of considerable adhesion, but it is the 

 duration, rather than the degree of pull, which 

 gradually fatigues the large muscle of the oyster 

 so that it relaxes and the shell is opened. The 

 starfish then turns its stomach literally "inside 

 out," to envelop and eat the oyster meat. Some investigators have suggested that 

 the starfish secretes a substance capable of narcotizing the oyster. This ability, 

 if present, is most probably used after the oyster is 'opened to prevent further 

 closing of the shells . 



It is apparent that smaller oysters are more readily and rapidly subject 

 to starfish attack. Therefore, the seed-oyster grower is greatly concerned with 

 starfish control. Large starfish may attack oysters that are three or four years 

 old, but they are more likely to resort to easier prey such as mussels, small 

 clams, crepidula, or several other species of small mollusks. 



The surveys of Galtsoff and Loosanof f (1939-40) have shown the depth distribu- 

 tion of starfish to be very similar to that of the oyster of the same waters. 

 Almost all of the cultivated oyster beds, as well as the natural public beds, 

 are in less than 30 feet of water and the great majority of the starfish were found 

 in depths of less than 40 feet. In the wintertime, when the water temperature 

 decreases to 41° F. (5° C.) or lower, the starfish become much less active and 

 many stop feeding. Consequently, destruction of oysters is greatest in the warmer 

 months but control efforts may be carried out the year around . 



Although found from Maine to Mexico, the starfish ( Asterias forbesi ) is rare 

 north of Cape Ann. Although present in southern coastal waters, it is not con- 

 sidered to be a menace to the oyster industry of that section. 



The starfish is much more susceptible to changes in salinity than the oyster. 

 This is the controlling factor in Chesapeake Bay and in many sections of the Gulf 

 coast. Starfish do not endure a salinity below 16 to 18 parts per thousand for 

 more than a short time. They, therefore, do not penetrate the Chesapeake Bay 

 much beyond Cape Charles and Norfolk ( Loosanof f, 1945). There are a few other 

 high-salinity areas in parts of New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana 

 where oysters are grown, but the starfish population is controlled by other factors 

 in these areas. In the open waters of Long Island Sound, however, since the salt 

 content is normally above 25 parts per thousand, salinity is not an important 

 environmental deterrent. 



