THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF THE WORLD 



551 



Table 118. Oyster Production in Various Countries in 1945, unless Otherwise 



Indicated. 



Country 



Annual production in 



No. of 

 Metric Tons oysters in Sacks 



Remarks 



thousands 



Total Weight 

 Weight of Meat 



222,580 

 1,230,660 



1,516 



Including other moUusks. 



O. edulis, 1937. 

 O. angulata, 1937. 

 Including shrimps and crabs, 1937. 

 O. edulis. 



Produced by cultivation, 1940. 

 Landed in Japanese ports, 1945. 

 1946. 

 73,119 Dredged. 

 5,828 Rock oysters. 

 1943. 

 1944. 



O. edulis, 1944. 

 O. angulata, 1946. 



5,651 In England and Wales. 



12 In Scotland. 



37,827 



1946 from U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service Fishery Leaflet 339. 



Fisheries Statistics," FAO, 1947, and "Fishery Statistics of 

 and Wildlife Service Statistical Digest 18 (1949). 



(O. gigas); and 686,350 bushels of so-called Olympia oyster of the West Coast 

 (O. lurida). The average yield was 5 pounds of meat per bushel. Assuming that 

 a bushel of eastern oysters weighs 80 pounds and that of the Pacific and Olympia 

 oysters, which have lighter shells, weighs 50 pounds, the total annual production 

 of oysters in shells in the United States is estimated as 575,272 metric tons. 



Next in importance are France (about 109,000 metric tons ^) and Japan (63,137 

 metric tons). According to Raas (1948) China produces 11,200 metric tons, and 

 other countries not listed in Table 118 (presumably including U.S.S.R.) each 

 produce not more than 300 or 400 metric tons. 



Thus, the total world production of oysters may be roughly estimated between 

 760,000 and 800,000 metric tons. The figure of 160,000 metric tons given by 

 Raas (1948) as a total world production of oysters in 1937 is too low, because 

 apparently he did not take into consideration the diflFerent methods of reporting 

 oyster catch in various countries. 



^ Assuming the average weight of O. edulis and O. angulata is 75 g. 



