The feasibility of oyster raft culture in east coast estuaries

Abstract

Styrofoam-floated oyster rafts were used to study the feasibility of raft culture in typical American east coast estuaries. Rafts were placed in Delaware Bay and several tidal tributaries in the state of Delaware. Four types of cultch were tested for resistance to the environment and utilization by setting spat. Hatchery-spawned oysters were reared on rafts and their growth and mortality were monitored. A special raft with moveable trays was designed to study the effectiveness of air drying in controlling fouling. Rafts withstood the environmental conditions in small tidal rivers but were severely damaged by waves in Delaware Bay. Although spat set was too low for commercial purposes in the rivers, sets approaching commercial density were obtained in the bay by putting bundles of strings on the oyster beds during setting. Oysters grown on rafts reached market size in approximately 2 years in two of the rivers: slower growth was noted in the other rivers. It was shown that fouling could be controlled effectively by air drying for 4 h each week. An economic analysis of raft culture for this area was conducted at the conclusion of the study, which showed that relatively high prices would be necessary to maintain a raft-based industry at this time.