Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1920-03-05
OYSTER GROWERS
COMPLETE SURVEY
LOSS IN JANUARY LESS THAN
ESTIMATED
Probably Not Over Ten Per Cent JOss
in Diketl Lands; Unprotected
Beds Reach Fifty.

Officials of the Olympia Oyster
Growers and Dealers Association
have completed survey of local oys-
ter growing lands, and compared the
loss from freezing weather of Janu-
airy last with that of 1916. Secre-
tary E. N. Steel issues the following
statement:
Among the growers of Olympia
oysters there has been a difference
of opinion as to the value of diking
natural oyster grounds. and particu-
larly as to its value in protecting
against freezing weather. The two
greatest destructive forces to the
oyster Is the cold in winter and the
heat in the summer. BY diking Oys-
ter ground after 1t has been leveled
and holding a few inches of water
over the oysters at times of low tide.
the water keeps the oysters warm in
winter and cool in summer. In jan
uary. 1915. there was very heavy
freeze and the oysters in the dikes
were frozen almost as bad in some
localities as outside Of the dikes, and
the result was to cause some oyster
men to feel that the protection was
not sufficient to justify he very heavy
expense of leveling the ground and
diking It,
During the past winter. however.
there was very heavy freeze. the
temperature running even lower than
1t did in January. 1916. and it has
been with great interest that the loss
in frozen oysters inside Of the dikes
and outside of the dikes has been
compared. and the reason for the diff
ferent results compared. In the 1916
freeze the oysters that were not
frozen seemed to be weakened and
continued to die during the following
spring and summer months. In local
tiles that had not been uncovered by
the water during the freeze it was
found that the oysters died in large
numbers, and in the dikes where they
were supposed to have been fully
protected very heavy loss was sus-
tanned The freeze that year, how
ever, continued over considerable
period of time and all of the water
in the bay became very cold and at
the same time the heavy SHOWS and
rains caused a great deal of fresh
water to come into the bay from the
numerous streams and creeks flow
ing into it, and the dikes became
filed with slush ice caused by the
snow. This combination of condi-
tions seems to have been the cause of
the extra heavy loss resulting from
that freeze. The freeze of the past
winter. however, did not last so long
and the water did not get SO cold;
there was but little snow or rain dur
ing this season and consequently
comparatively little fresh water in
the bay. and the loss of oysters in
the dikes probably did not exceed
from to 10 per cent. while outside
run as high as SO per cent. This may
not seem like a very heavy loss. but
when you consider the number of
acres of oyster lands that it affects
the total loss. even of this freeze, is
considerable. while that sustained in
the freeze of 1916 was almost stag
gering, and when comparing the loss
then and now great deal more con-
fidence is being placed in the eff
cheney of the diking system.
"The efforts of the oyster men
have been to increase the supply by
increasing the output to the maxi
mum on developed land and by con-
tinued development of oyster land
heretofore unproductive so that the
production may meet the heavy grow
ing demand for the olympia Oys-
ter" and to prevent shortage as
there has been several years in the
past. The result of the freeze in
1916, which destroyed oysters of all
sizes from the "spat" or baby oyster
to the marketable oyster four years
Of age. caused considerable short
age in succeeding years, but the oys-
ter men were just beginning to have
hopes that within a year or two the
output would be back to normal,