119 



Tarr, Marvin A.; Carr, Mark I; Westley, Ronald E. 



1971. 



Biological evaluation of floating oyster culture (Section E) , and 



Economic evaluation of the floating oyster culture (Section C) of 



final report of investigations for the Lummi Aguaculture Project. 



Wash. State Dep. Fish., Manage. Res. Div., 20 pp. 



Biology: Using facilities of the Western Oyster Company, 



floating and bottom culture methods were compared during the 



period November 1970 to September 1971. Study methodology, 



limitations, and results are given.. Raft culture was found 



superior to ground culture, except for fouling. 



Economics: Raft culture costs (for Western Oyster Company) are 

 compared to bottom culture costs for Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, 

 and Willapa Eay for 1971 (guestionnaires and interviews, data for 

 50% of Washington Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, 

 production) . Raft-cultured oysters were harvested after 1 year 

 on the raft (16-20 per half pint), and ground-culture oysters, at 

 3 years (medium oysters, 8-10 per pint). Costs per gallon of 

 oyster meat for the two methods are itemized to include seed, 

 planting and culture, and harvesting. 

 Subject descriptors: 



Oysters; raft culture; ground culture; method comparison; costs; 

 returns; survey data; biology. 



120 



Vaughn, Charles L. 

 1973. 



National survey of the oyster industry's problems. 

 Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv . , Market Res. Serv. Div., Contract Rep. 

 N-043-41-72, 92 pp. 



Based upon NMFS processing-firm population data, oyster 

 processing firms were stratified on the basis of location (East, 

 Gulf, and Pacific Coasts) and dollar volume of oyster product 

 sales (less than $0.1, $0.1 to 0.5 and over $0.5, in millions) in 

 1970. Of 523 firms, 192 were sampled. The 1972-73 survey 

 employed mail questionnaires and nonrespondent interviews. It 

 was intended to ascertain and rank specific industry problems. 

 The survey results are summarized in discussion and detailed 

 tables. Topics include: attitude acout future business 

 prospects, problems, market outlets, capital expenditure plans, 

 role of the Shellfish Institute of North America, product forms, 

 areas of the business with greatest future, and employment. The 

 tables employ frequency distributions, U.S., by size of firm and 

 by region. The firms buy oysters, shuck, and sell oyster 

 products, mostly fresh. Sales concentration is apparent. Supply 

 problems, relating to pollution mainly, and production problems, 

 relating especially to shortages of qualifed labor, are among the 

 leading difficulties. Aguaculture of seed and market-size 

 (processor-input size) oysters ranks fairly low among "aspects of 

 the oyster business with greatest future," and "finished 



54 



