52 REPORT ON OYSTER CULTURE 



The advocates for the removal of all restrictions against con- 

 tinuous dredging, contend that during the close season much 

 more injury is inflicted by allowing slob and weeds to accumulate, 

 and the enemies of the oyster to prey unrestrainedly on them 

 than any amount of dredging would accomplish. (See Commis- 

 sioners' Report, Appendix K.) 



Those in favour of a close season assert in answer, that if the 

 constant operations of the dredger were so necessary for the pre- 

 servation of oyster grounds, the extensive banks, some with layers 

 upon layers of oysters many feet deep, never could have survived 

 so long — subject as they were to be covered with mud, overrun 

 with weeds, bored through by the whelk, or devoured by star- 

 fish and crabs. 



Both disputants are to a certain extent right. 



The great ocean beds over which a dredge may never have 

 passed until their discovery, appear to support the theory that 

 such grounds could thrive without the aid of man; and on the other 

 hand, the ruined state to which many natural banks have often 

 been rapidly reduced, soon after their discovery by the dredgers, 

 is again a strong fact in support of the evidence as to the mischief 

 of overdredging. 



But it sometimes occurs that when owing to this serious dimi- 

 nution of oysters, such banks have been nearly or altogether 

 abandoned, they rapidly become ruined by the collection of mud, 

 weeds, and vermin, proving the necessity of continuing the dred- 

 ging for cleansing purposes. 



The answer to both sides is plain; many banks, though not all, 

 really require human care for their preservation. Under other 

 circumstances, where neither weeds nor mud accumulate, vermin 

 abound, owing to causes difficult to account for ; generally where 

 the scour is sufficient to keep the cultch in a clean state, no 

 interference on the part of man is necessary. 



It may be asked why, if at one period banks were productive 

 without artificial aid they should afterwards require it. There are 

 various reasons why this may be so which may carry more or less 

 weight. The disturbance of the soil by dredging may render all 

 around loose and more shifting, and thus weed or soil may more 

 easily drift into the depression caused by the abstracted oysters, 

 or the drift of mud, &c., may attract vermin in large numbers from 

 a distance, even as the fisherman rakes the bottom to attract fish. 

 Alterations of currents and storms may now and then occur. 

 Indeed there may be many ways of accounting for it, but it may 

 be taken for granted that the fact is so. The case of Granville, 

 for example, is one in point. 



Recommendations. 



As the result of our inquiry, we beg to offer the following re- 

 commendations for your Excellency's consideration : — 



1. That all regulations with regard to the close time around the 

 Irish coast should be strictly maintained. 



