

CONDITION AND EXTENT OF THE OYSTER BEDS OF 

 JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 



By H. F. Moore, 

 Assistant, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. 



PREVIOUS SURVEYS. 



Prior to the investigations made by the Bureau of Fisheries in 

 July, August, and September, 1909, two surveys of the James River 

 oyster beds had been made, neither of which professed to delineate 

 the rocks accurately or to furnish detailed information concerning 

 their productiveness and condition. The first of these surveys was 

 a reconnoissance made in 1878 by Lieut, (then Master) Francis 

 Winslow, U. S. Navy, in command of the Coast and Geodetic Survey 

 schooner Palinurus. The second was the survey of the public 

 grounds by Mr. J. B. Baylor, assistant, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

 under the authority of the State, in 1892 and preceding years. 



As Winslow himself states, his " examination of these beds was a 

 very hurried one, and the delineation must be regarded as merely 

 approximate, being the result of a hasty reconnoissance." The 

 chart published with the report delineates merely the general out- 

 lines of the oyster-bearing areas, without attempting to show the 

 smaller individual rocks or the density of growth, and the text is of 

 very general character. Comparing the chart with the results of 

 the recent survey, however, it is evident that Lieutenant Winslow's 

 brief investigation must have shown with considerable accuracy the 

 general distribution of oysters in the James and Nansemond rivers 

 at that time. The differences between the general results of the two 

 surveys are such as could be readily produced by the lapse of time 

 and the vicissitudes through which the beds have passed under the 

 operation of natural and human agencies. Some areas have become 

 depleted through the intensive fishing they have sustained, or from 

 the effects of freshets and other physical factors, while on the other 

 hand some appear to have had their boundaries extended or have 

 become merged with adjacent beds through the operations of the 

 tongers. 



