Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

8-1955

Journal

Southern Fisherman

Volume

15

Issue

5

First Page

n/p

Abstract

Drs. Andrews and Hewatt have been holding oysters in trays suspended from the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory pier at Gloucester Point, Virginia, for the past four years. The preliminary objective has been to study mortality rates, but other information has been gathered from time to time, particularly on the growth rate. During the course of these investigations we have been impressed by the yields that have been obtained, for it has not been uncommon to realize three bushels of market-sized oysters for each original bushel of seed placed in the trays.

Reduced to the simplest terms, the yield of market oysters from planted seed is determined by the interaction of growth and mortality. This has been pointed out by Hopkins and Menzel (1952), who have outlined methods by which planters can determine growth and mortality rates from which they can calculate the net yield. Owen (1953) has described the relationship between growth, mortality, and yield at given locations in Louisiana waters, using figures obtained from experimental plants of seed. Thus, our work is not original in the sense that it represents a new approach. It is original, however, to the extent that it concerns the Chesapeake Bay region, and that it utilizes the methods of computation applied to fish populations by Ricker (1945, 1948) and other

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