spawned from 85 to 50 per cent of their sex products and the oyster 

 meats were typical of good quality oysters during a spawning season. 

 But in all cases, new shell growth was limited to 5 mraa. , or less 

 and on 5 out of 7 reefs the deposition of new shell material was 

 Just starting. Ordinarily, along the Gulf Coast, the period frcan 

 February to May is one of the major growing seasons of the year. 

 In these months, oysters at the Pensacola Laboratory increased 

 more than 50 per cent in average length. 



Analyses of the total numbers of oysters present and the dis- 

 tribution of the different size groups on the reefs were not feasible 

 because during the investigation, fishermen were harvesting the oysters 

 and the State of Mississippi was transplanting seed oysters from one 

 reef to another. In nearly all cases the reef bottoms were in good 

 condition but were greatly in need of shells to catch the season's 

 spat fall. The setting of young oysters, or spat fall, was very 

 heayy in most locations^ Clean shells were covered with 50 to 500 

 spat and the absence of oyster drills on all but the most easterly 

 bars Indicates that a reasonable percentage of these spat will survive. 



In my opinion, the environment for the period January through 

 May 1949 in this area, while not detrimental to the point of illling 

 the oysters, had been distinctly unfavorable. 



Area II . The reefs studied in this section were without exception, 

 seriously depleted in numbers of oysters and amount of clean cultch. 

 Ninety-five per cent of the oysters present were less than 3 inches 

 long; the shells were smooth and free of fouling organisms. It is 

 characteristic of oysters exposed to excess fresh water to have 

 smooth white shells which are not fouled by other commensal organisms. 

 The oysters had deposited almost no new shell material. Although in 

 May, the oysters had commenced feeding, there was little significant 

 development of the gonads. With one exception, there was no set 

 of 1949 oysters. Station 10, the easternmoat reef in the area had 

 received a heavy spat fall and showed the least mortality, 26 per 

 cent, of any reefs in Area II, The remaining stations had recent 

 mortalities ranging from 45 to 95 per cent of the small population 

 still present. The reef bottoms varied from good to poor. Many 

 showed the effects of the 1947 hurricane in having excess sand and 

 soft mud. Some of these conditions may be a lasting effect from 

 the flooding of 1945, but at such a late date it is not possible to 

 be certain of this. 



The oysters in both Areas I and II are primarily on public 

 reefs. The Louisiana Department of Wild Life and Fisheries and the 

 Mississippi Seafoods Commission plant shells or seed oysters on 



