560 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



the harbors and bays. The great advantage of this method is that it makes the 

 oyster grower independent of the character of the bottom. 



A simplified form of oyster farming practiced in Delaware Bay, in the lower 

 part of Chesapeake Bay, and in Louisiana waters consists of taking seed oysters 

 from public grounds and planting them on privately leased bottoms. The most 

 valuable seed grounds which support the American industry are located in the 

 upper part of Delaware Bay, in the lower part of the James River, and east of 

 the delta of the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The returns from the planting of 

 seed taken from these grounds rarely reach 4 bushels of adult oysters for 1 bushel 

 of seed. In most cases the yield varies from 0.75 to 2.5 bushels for each bushel 

 planted. Low returns of less than 1:1 are primarily due to the destruction of young 

 oysters by drills, conchs, and other enemies. 



Seed-Oyster Industry. Production of seed oysters is a very important and profit- 

 able occupation. In 1945 over 2.9 million bushels of seed were sold in the United 

 States, bringing to the oyster growers a total revenue of 1.48 million dollars 

 (Table 120). Probably no less seed was produced by the oyster companies for 

 planting on their own grounds. Chesapeake Bay produces the largest portion of 

 seed sold in the United States. In 1945 the seed from this body of water comprised 

 89.4 per cent of the total amount purchased by the oyster growers. The average 

 value of the Chesapeake seed was only 34 cents a bushel as compared with the 

 average price of $1.89 a bushel for New England seed. The difiFerence is due to 

 the fact that in Chesapeake Bay the term "seed oysters" applies to all oysters, 

 less than 3 inches long, taken from public oyster grounds. One bushel of James 

 River seed may contain, for instance, several hundred almost fully grown oysters 

 of various ages and sizes, while in New England a bushel of seed may contain 

 several thousands of small oysters of a known age. Potential return from plant- 

 ing a bushel containing large numbers of small oysters is obviously much higher 

 than that from planting a bushel of seed consisting of a smaller number of nearly 

 fully grown oysters. Consequently, the price of New England seed oysters is 

 much greater than that of seed from public reefs. 



Production and Value of Seed Oysters in U. S. A., 1945. 



. , Chesapeake Total 



Bushels Value Bushels Value Bushels Value 



800 $1750 2,642,266 $899,595 2,666,678 $928,121 



_ _ 7,544 2,530 297,474 552,488 



800 1750 2,649,810 902,125 2,964,152 1,480,609 



All figures in thousands of bushels or thousands of dollars. 



Source: Anderson, A. W., and Power, E. A., "Fishery Statistics of the United States, 

 1945," U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Statistical Digest, 18 (1949). 



Public Oyster Grounds. More than a million acres of public oyster reefs or 

 rocks in the United States are open to fishing to those holding licenses sold at a 

 small fee by state departments of fisheries. Through neglect and bad management 

 most of the potentially productive areas have been depleted. In several states the 

 destruction of public grounds was so complete that the oyster industry ceased to 

 exist. In others, as for instance in the Chesapeake Bay states, the productivity of 



