208 American Fisheries Society. 



periods when many other fishing industries are not in opera- 

 tion. Fortunately, or unfortunately, water-products rotate 

 in their seasons and watermen in general desert the land 

 the year round. 



However, the oyster is the greatest commodity of our 

 water products. While the output in recent years has been 

 approximated around five or six million bushels annually, 

 there was a time when Virginia produced twelve to fifteen 

 million bushels, by far the greatest of any state on the Atlan- 

 tic coast. The upgrade work in oyster production, which is 

 being resumed since the world war, should in a year or two 

 approximate ten or twelve millions of bushels, and if so the 

 advanced price on oysters will cause the industry to be the • 

 most valuable in its record. The cost of oysters has advanced 

 with all other products, largely because of the great in- 

 crease in demand and the high cost of labor. Norfolk is 

 the largest individual handler of oysters, the dealers there 

 getting their stock from the James River and Hampton 

 Roads points, as well as further up, from the York, Mobjack, 

 Cape Charles and even the Rappahannock, the Potomac and 

 the Sounds. 



There are three classes engaged in the oyster business, 

 viz : the tonger or catcher, the planter, the packer. Ofttimes 

 the tonger may be a small planter, and quite frequently 

 the packer is also a planter. Each vying for preferment 

 brings a complex situation in the administration of these 

 aft'airs. For instance, he who packs and ships, only, is in 

 little accord with the catcher or planter; the planter is often 

 at loggerheads with the catcher, while the catcher is in 

 general opposed to the planting system. These conditions 

 exist only in a general way, for there are many exceptions in 

 each of the classes. The administration of oyster affairs has 

 always sought the best for each class while not infringing 

 upon the privileges or deserts of the other classes. Such 

 a policy, which is for the best good of the greatest number, 

 does not meet with approbation from any of thethree classes, 

 since it is human nature to want all for yourself or your 

 business. Nevertheless, conditions in the oyster regions in 

 Virginia today are quite favorable — both as to administra- 

 tion and the prospect for increased output. 



Oysters and fish are probably the cheapest of meats 

 when the weight and caloric values are considered. None 

 could be more healthful. It is not hard to estimate that 

 about fifteen millions of dollars of the raw product goes 

 annually from the water industries of Virginia. As said, of 

 this the oyster is the greater portion. 



