222 ^- S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



5. Collect seed oysters on shells or other collectors in areas ^Yhere 

 heaviest setting occurs and transplant these oysters to suitable bot- 

 toms where setting does not occur or is light, so they will develop as 

 single, better-shaped oysters. 



C. Apply improved methods of oyster culture to oysters under 

 private control. 



Seed oysters can be obtained in large quantities near Grant's Pass, 

 at the entrance to Heron Bay, and along the shores of Portersville 

 Harbor. The best method of obtaining them is to plant clean shells, 

 which should be scattered over the firm bottoms or planted (just 

 before the oysters set) in bags 12 inches in diameter and 3 feet 

 long, made of galvanized chicken wire of II/2 or 2 inch mesh. In 

 the fall the bags are taken up and the shells dumped on firm bottom 

 in deep water. The best locality in which to plant seed is Bon 

 Secours Bay, where setting is light and the OA^sters would not be 

 overcrowded. The productivity of overcrowded reefs can be im- 

 proved by removing small oysters and jilanting them elsewhere. 

 Before transplanting, large clusters should be broken apart. It is 

 not necessary to break the clusters into separate shells, but small 

 bunches of five or six shells can be left unbroken. The best time 

 to plant is in the fall or winter, when the temperature is low. Then 

 mortality would not be as great as in summer. 



Future progress in the oyster industr^^ in Alabama waters depends 

 upon the development of oyster farming. It can be promoted by 

 encouraging leasing of grounds to private citizens, giving protection 

 to public and private oyster bottoms, and introducing modern methods 

 of oyster culture. Individuals and companies engaged in growing 

 oysters should be permitted to use modern equipment for dredging 

 and handling oysters on their own grounds, but the use of such 

 apparatus should not be permitted on the natural public beds except 

 under strict supervision by the State. 



Mississi]ypi Soimd. — The investigation of the oyster bottoms in 

 Mississippi Sound was completed in September by J. H. Weatherby. 

 The purpose of the survey was to determine the causes of the decrease 

 in productivity of the natural beds and to devise methods for main- 

 taining and increasing their productivity. The following conclusions 

 were reached after one year's study : 



1. The chief cause of decreasing production in the sound and its 

 tributaries is overfishing, followed by insufficient planting of cultch 

 and seed. That this region is well suited to oyster culture is indicated 

 best by the fact that all available material upon which larva? can 

 attach themselves is covered by an abundance of spat every j^ear, and 

 that generally oysters reacli marketable size in two years. 



2. From 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of shells are planted annually 

 over an area of approximatelv 20 square miles, which produces 

 200.000 to 300,000 barrels of oysters. When considered in relation 

 to the amount of planting done, this production is all that may rea- 

 sonably be expected; but when considered in relation to the total 

 area involved, it is very small. Comparative figures show that 

 200,000 to 300,000 barrels annually is about 10 per cent of the amount 

 that an area of the same size, but cultivated according to modern 

 methods of oyster culture, could reasonably be expected to produce. 



