From Seed to Cash: 

 How do North Carolina's New Gardens Grow? 



Midgett and Tillet are reluctant to advise every- 

 one to plunge into oyster and clam farming, since 

 the project's economic feasibility is still being 

 tested. But they are hopeful that the pilot oyster 

 and clam plots will achieve the intended goal of 

 providing another way for coastal people to gain 

 income from the water. 



"We're basically looking for ways for people to 

 make a little money with only a little money," 

 Midgett says. "You can take a million dollars and 

 do anything, but we're looking for a way for a guy 

 without much capital to do something." 



When people approach Midgett and Tillet about 

 farming, the two agents begin by examining the 

 site. Clams and oysters like shallow water with 

 relatively high salinity, strong tidal currents and 

 plenty of food. The gardens must also be in an area 

 where they can be observed and protected from 

 vandals. 



If the conditions look favorable, a pilot project 

 can be set. For clams, this means building a pen, 

 three-by-four feet usually, of either vinyl-coated 

 wire or plastic netting and pipe, extending about 

 six inches below the sand and three feet above the 

 water level to keep out blue crabs and other 

 predators. 



"You can take a million dollars and do 

 anything, but we're looking (or a way for a 

 guy without much capital to do something." 



Seed clams — usually about 1,000 from the hatch- 

 ery in Morehead City— are then tossed into the 

 pen where they bed themselves in the sand. If they 

 die in a week you can be fairly sure you're in the 

 wrong place; although Midgett says he has had 

 clams prosper when moved only 100 feet. After 

 that, it's simply a matter of watching for holes in 

 the wire and philandering crabs, raking off sea- 

 weed and waiting an estimated 16 to 18 months for 

 the clams to grow to marketable size. 



Farming oysters is a little more involved. Ex- 

 perience and a trip to Japan have shown that oys- 

 ters grow best when off the bottom and the Sea 

 Grant agents have been experimenting with, 

 among other methods, racks of plastic trays sus- 

 pended from pontoon rafts. The trays are per- 

 forated with small holes which must be kept open 

 to keep water flowing over the seed oysters. Mid- 

 gett and Tillet began planting oysters last August 

 and they've found the racks of trays need cleaning 

 weekly in the summer to keep algae from clogging 

 the holes. The racks used to date must also be in 

 protected water but Sea Grant is investigating new 

 designs which could be placed in open waters. They 



are also looking for other, less expensive materials. 



Depending on water temperature, location, salin- 

 ity and a myriad of other factors, oysters take from 

 one to three years to grow from three-quarter inch 

 to marketable size. And both clams and oysters 

 appear to do better if they are set out in the fall. 



"It's a lengthy process and unless you have 

 money to gamble it's best to play it safe," Midgett 

 says. "How much money can you make? It's a good 

 question and there are no truths because every- 

 thing varies. 



"For example, if you bought 1,000 seed clams 

 for a penny a piece, you could sell them for from 

 four to eight cents, depending on who you sold to 

 and when. Then you have to figure in how many 

 you lose, and we've had 95 per cent survival to 

 total loss. If all factors were favorable I don't see 

 why you couldn't get 85 to 90 per cent survival. 

 That brings you $24 to $58 profit for 1,000 seed 

 clams. And they claim you can raise 75 clams per 

 square foot although I'd say between 50 and 75 to 

 start and spread them out as they get bigger. 



"And, of course, you have to include the invest- 

 ment for the pens and the lease. The state charges 

 $5 an acre to lease bottom and the applicant must 

 pay to have the land surveyed." The state leases 

 only commercially unproductive and unpolluted 

 bottom land which will be developed to produce at 

 least 25 bushels per acre. 



"It's a lengthy process and unless you 

 have money to gamble it's best to play it 

 sate. How much money can you make? 

 It's a good question and there are no 

 truths because everything varies." 



Midgett personally has no doubts about the 

 feasibility of the clam project, although he thinks 

 the oyster venture is still too young to be assessed. 



"It's all in the experimental stage and people 

 getting into it will have to use their own judgment 

 and ideas," he adds. 



But using his imagination, he can picture triple 

 decker farming with clams on the sound floor, 

 oysters suspended from wire cages on the pen and 

 scallops on the top. 



Persons interested in finding out more about 

 oyster and clam gardening can contact Midgett 

 and Tillet at 473-3937. 



Room for Growth: 



North Carolina Joins the Aquaculture Experimenters 



North Carolina is not alone in its quest 

 for practical and economical ways to farm 

 clams and oysters. Work is being done on 

 both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. 



Maine is particularly active in oyster 

 aquaculture and one commercial enterprise, 

 Maine Coast Oyster Corp., is now selling 

 oysters planted with Sea Grant help. The 

 oysters have grown to market size in two 

 years and are selling for 20 cents a piece at 

 latest report. The oysters are grown in 

 floating trays in racks nine-deep. In the 

 winter they are moved to the bottom to 

 avoid problems with icing. 



A little closer to home, Frank Wilde is 

 successfully growing oysters in Chinco- 

 teague Bay, Va. The oysters are set in sin- 

 gle floating trays which are positioned in 

 rows. Wilde grows his crop from spat to 

 marketable plump, single oyster. 



Off-bottom culture is also being research- 

 ed, through Sea Grant, in South Carolina 

 and Oregon. 



Clam aquaculture is being explored in 

 Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington. 

 And growing mussels the Spanish way, on 

 rafts, is being tested in Maine. 



"There's definitely a potential for growth." 



Prognosises for the future vary, but, ac- 

 cording to T. Pillay, fishery resources 

 officer with the United Nations, mollusk 

 farming is the second most promising 



arena in the aquaculture world. 



"There's definitely a potential for 

 growth," says National Sea Grant Advisory 

 Agent Bill Shaw. "Almost all Japanese 

 oysters are grown off-bottom now, for ex- 

 ample, which shows it's a way to do it. 

 Japan is about level with us now on oyster 

 production, even though they have much 

 less area, because they're using the third 

 dimension." 



In North Carolina the potential is there 

 for more shellfish production, according to 

 Mike Street of the Division of Marine Fish- 

 eries. 



The state ranks low in oyster and clam 

 production and only plants about 80 acres 

 of bottom to oysters and clams a year, he 

 says. But thousands more acres are avail- 

 able, although more than 60,000 acres of 

 good growing bottom is now inaccessible 

 because of pollution. 



"Japan is about level with us now in oyster 

 production, even though they have much 

 less ar 



If the Sea Grant projects pan out and 

 find ways to overcome economic and, in 

 some areas, legal problems, oyster and 

 clam gardening — with the advantages of 

 fast, choice growth relatively free from pre- 

 dators — may find a welcome place on the 

 North Carolina coast. 



University of North Carolina 

 Sea Grant Program 

 1235 Burlington Laboratories 

 North Carolina State University 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607 



a paid at Raleigh 



