64 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHEEIES 



DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL OYSTER BEDS 



The natural oj^ster beds in Georgia were carefully examined by 

 J. C, Drake in 1880, and the results of his survey were published 

 in United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Bulletin No. 19 (1891). 

 The location of oyster beds described by Drake is shown in the 

 sketch charts (figs. 1 and 2), which were prepared from the charts 

 published by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (1891). 

 A surve}^ made in 1925 has shown that there are no significant 

 changes in the distribution and extent of the natural oyster beds, 

 although a difference in their condition was very noticeable. Many 

 areas indicated in the old survey as natural oyster beds include, at 

 l)resent, all those areas where oysters had grown. In many instan(:es, 

 nothing but shells now remain; in others, the shells are even covered 

 by a layer of silt. 





4tfm 



♦ t 



V*^ 



FiGUUB 3. — First stage of the formation of an oyster bed. Soft mud flats near 

 Brunswick, Ga. Low tide 



A glance at Figures 1 and 2 discloses that most of the natural beds 

 in Georgia are located along the shores of the rivers and creeks, 

 wliere they form long and narrow strips on tlie flats. Most of these 

 beds are confined to the zone between liigh and low tidal marks. 

 There are but a few localities whei'e oysters are found growing on 

 the bottom of the streams. Scattered single oysters can be found 

 also in small creeks and in the marshe's where bottom is sufficiently 

 firm to support their weight. It is interesting to note that although 

 oysters thrown on the bottom below low-water mark will grow well, 

 no large accumulations of them are found anywhere in Georgia 

 coastal waters except on tidal flats. The peculiar distribution of 

 natural beds apparently is due to the tendency of the oyster larvae 

 to congregate at the time of setting at the level between high and 

 low water marks. Although, as a rule, tidal flats in Georgia are 

 covered with very soft mud, yet they may contain certain solid 

 objects, as for instance branches or stumps of fallen trees, old shells, 

 etc., to which the larvoe can attach themselves. As a matter of fact, 

 any object thrown on the flats a little above low-water mark and 



