CONTENTS, 



Introduction 5 



Methods of the survey 6 



Description of the natural beds: 



Scranton Reef 11 



Patches near Scranton Reef 13 



West Pascagoula Reef 14 



Deer Island, East Point bed 15 



Small patches, Biloxi Bay 17 



Biloxi Bay, below railroad bridge 18 



Back Bay, east bed 19 



Back Bay, west bed 21 



The beds in summary 22 



Barren bottoms 27 



General physical and biological conditiDus: 



Tides and currents 30 



Salinity of water 30 



Oyster food 32 



Oyster enemies '^^ 



Spawning '^^ 



Oyster culture ^^ 



Summary, conclusions and recommendations 39 



3 



