RESOURCES:
Marylanders Grow
Oysters in the
St. Mary's River
RESEARCH:
The Relation of
Sedimentation to
Growth Rate
in St. Mary's River
Oyster Restoration
in St. Mary’s River
PARTNERS:
Marylanders Grow Oysters - Frequently Asked Questions
Courtesy of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Simply adjust the line and lower your cages until they are just above the bottom, but not on it. The oysters must be totally under water at all times for the oysters to survive. Your oysters will not freeze as long as they are in the water. If they are exposed to the frigid air they can die.
No. Oysters eat algae and the Bay provides it for them.
Spat from the hatchery are very small and may not be readily visible. Let them grow about a month or two and they will be larger and easier to see. If by then you still don’t see any spat let us know.
Scrub your cage with a brush (no detergent or soap) and dip it in the water or hose it down. This accumulation of fouling organisms (similar to what grows on your piling) is normal but can accumulate and become a nuisance. It can make your cage very heavy.
No. The growth on the cage wire won’t hurt the spat. It will simply make the cage heavier. As long as the wire mesh of the cage is at least 50% open for water flow the oysters will receive plenty of water. In other words the cage could be about 50% closed up due to fouling (at this point it will look like a real mess) and still the spat will be ok. But please tend the cages and keep them from getting this fouled.
The oysters will be collected near the end of May into early June, about 9 months after you receive them. This time period avoids the heavy fouling that would occur if you continued tending the cages through the summer.
The oysters will be planted in the sanctuary located in the upper St. Mary's River. You and your fellow growers are working to help your area, hence the oysters stay there. If you are in a creek off the river, your oysters will be moved to the main river for planting in the sanctuary because small creeks and coves rarely have suitable bottom for planting oysters.
Slow growth could be due to silt, low salinity, or low temperatures. If the young oysters (spat) are stressed by high amounts of silt, growth can be stunted. Rinsing the oysters more often will help. If the salinity of the water is very low due to abundant rainfall, the spat may not grow very well. In this case, the only remedy is for there to be less rain. Also, your spat may grow slowly simply because it is cold – water temperatures below about 50 degrees reduce growth dramatically.
No. First, the oysters are not safe to eat because they grow close to the shoreline. The oyster seafood industry is highly regulated and waters where oysters are harvested are carefully monitored to ensure that the seafood is safe for human consumption. Second, the oysters are too small to harvest after only one year in your cages. Finally, this project was created to enhance the wild oyster population so all the oysters will be planted in a sanctuary.
Give me a call and let me know. We will find another home for the oysters. Call Bob Lewis at 301-826-3517 or email info@stmarysriver.org.
