New Britain herald., 1930-11-28
OYSTER GROUNDS
 OPEN FOR SEASON
Chesapeake Bay Greatest Field
 in World for DeliCacy

Washington, D. C., Nov. 2S.-In the fall mems palateS turn 10 oy- ss1rs And to eater to these palatei, the Chesapeake Bay oyster grounds are today resounding with the clanil oi oyster tongs and the shuffle of thousands of bushels of oyster shells.
 No less than 35 countries have oyster fisheries" says q bulletin from the Washington. D. C., head quarters of the National Geographic Society. Upwards of 20,O00,0Oj bushels of oysters arc produced in , The world annually. About four fiths of them arc dredged from American waters while France, Japan and China account for the greater part of the remaining one fifth.
 Worlds Greatest Oyster Ground
 Sail the coastal waters of the United States" continues the bulle- tin, "and you will meet oyster fish e1men off the coasts of every state Maine. In fifteen of the coast states the oyster is the chief fishery product. But Chesapeake Bay re- mains the worlds greatest oyster ground.
 If Nature nurtured every young oyster to adulthood, in a few years Chesapeake Bay and other waters n which oysters thrive, would be crowded out of their beds by the bivalves. An adult oyster extrudes millions of young but only a few reach dinner table size.
 Few Oysters Reach Adult Age
 For a few days after birth the young, which arc invisible to the naked eye, weakly swim about with inc tides and currents. Fish and nlolusks which strain their food from water as it passes through their gills devour millions of the h.lpless infants. Adult oysters, even. thus make away with large numbers Of the little creatures. At this stage the young are called spat. Several days after birth the spat fall to the sea floor. Large numbers settle on mud and soft sand and are lost. Those that attach themselves to hard, clean objects are saved.
 American oystermen literally lay T floor of oyster shells on their grounds to catch the falling spat. One shell will accommodate hun lrcds of young oysters. Chinese and Japanese oystermcn prefer us- ing tree branches to catch the spat, and at low tide a Japanese oyster nursery resembles a forest of bar nacle-Coyered trees. Stones are streWn about oyster grounds in Aus iralia. New Zealand and also in China, while the Dutch and French .ummerge tiles. Lost running lights ot ships and bottles, covered with young oysters have been dredged from oyster grounds. When their shells have developed, the young bivalves arc transplanted in deeper water to grow and fatten for two Or three years. when they are ready for market.
 Nature gave the oyster a hard she'll for protection, but did not give the Diyalye legs or swimming appa- ratus to escape all of its enemies. Schools of black drum fish sweep down upon beds, crushing thousands or bushels Of adult oysters in their | powerful teeth and dcvourng them. ! On the Pacific coast a species of the 1 stingray makes similar inroads ! upon oyster beds. 2, Tn Long Island Sound star fish i clamp themselves over the mouths ! oi adult oysters and doggedly cling ! OF until the oysters muscles relax !; from fatigue. Then the tcntaClcd at ! tackers insert their stomaChs be- l tween the shells and swallow the l helpless creatures at their leisure.
 Enemies also bore through oy 1 stor shells and suck the tender part l Q the organisms through the holes; | while mussels, barnaclcs, and i sponges sometimes adhere so densc- ! ly to oyster shells that the bivalvcs | are literally suffocated or starved to 1 death for lack of oxygen or food.
 Oysters from the eastern coast of | The United States have been ship ped to western markets since inn movements in rctrlgeratng tcchni- que has made it possible to preserve hem in a fresh state. Tho Pacific