The Connecticut River May Produce Seed Oysters Once Again by Timothy C

The Connecticut River May Produce Seed Oysters Once Again By Timothy C. Visel Over a century ago, Connecticut Prevents Self Purification of My graduate research at the oystermen were developing an Water Courses, delivered to a University of Rhode Island industry that would become world convention of the American involves developing the shellfish renowned for its ability to produce Health Association in 1922, Dr. management program for Old large quantities of seed oysters. Thurlow Nelson examined this Saybrook, Connecticut. Old They observed that the rivers and decline, nothing the outpouring of Saybrook is situated at the mouth streams that flow into Long Island industrial waste incident to the of the Connecticut River and has Sound created a brackish element war. “Let present conditions several miles of shoreline that was especially suitable for continue,” he said, “and in ten bordering Long Island Sound to oyster growing. years the oyster will only be a the south and the Connecticut memory.” River to the west. In the last two The technique they used was years, several shellfish surveys called “natural growth.” It was Forty-five years after Dr. Nelson’s have revealed two large natural based upon the realization that address, production of oysters oyster beds in the lower young oysters, called “spat,” from Long Island Sound had Connecticut River. attached themselves in great fallen to only 40,000 bushels, or numbers on oyster shells less than 3 percent of earlier In the summer lf 1082, Old discarded over oyster beds. harvests. Saybrook transplanted Capitalizing on the oyster’s approximately 100 bushes of spawning characteristics and the In 1967, Connecticut’s oyster oysters from polluted areas in the need of a clean surface upon industry received a government Connecticut River to offshore which that spat must be affixed, sponsored resource disaster grant areas. In theses offshore areas a oystermen began to “farm” river in the hope of reviving the setting natural process called depuration mouths and estuaries in the late ability of inshore oyster beds. The will allow the shellfish to cleanse 1850’s. Connecticut oystermen project cleaned 15 natural oyster themselves so they can be cultivated these inshore areas by beds of predators and seeded them harvested by recreational first laying down clean oyster with adult oysters. It was one of shellfishermen. Thus while the shell “cultch” (at the precise time the largest applied efforts ever Connecticut River itself remains oyster larvae would be seeing a undertaken to reproduce seed closed to shell fishing, this habitat place to set), harvesting the newly oysters under natural conditions. may once again produce set oysters as seed, and finally It worked. In 1973, Connecticut significant quantities of seed transplanting seed to grow-out had its first widespread and oysters. In addition, seed oysters areas or oyster beds. intense oyster set in almost three from nearby rivers and streams decades. Since then, two could be planted in the lower river The Connecticut oyster industry additional rivers have been opened and allowed to mature until grew rapidly and by 1896, oyster to seed oystering – the depurated for recreational growers planted annually over 8 Hammonasset River in 1978 and harvesting. million bushels of oyster shell, the East River in 1979. It is hoped gravel and crushed stone in the that other rivers will go into In October 1981, I received a process of improving production shortly. small research grant form CRWC unproductive ground for oyster to survey and map natural oyster culture. In 1898, Connecticut’s Various state and federal pollution bed in the Connecticut River. oyster production peaked at abatement programs have lessened Included in this study will be a slightly over 15 million bushels. the serious pollution of cultch experiment using bags of (Over 100 million pounds of Connecticut’s inland waterways. oyster shells to identify potential oyster meets.) Unfortunately, the Therefore, it is not surprising that seed oyster producing areas. The Connecticut oyster industry was to many towns have experienced a towns of Old Saybrook and Old collapse as quickly as it dramatic increase in seed oyster Lyme have given me permissions developed. This rapid decline of production. However, over the to survey these oyster bed and for the natural growth oyster industry span of a hundred years, people the cultch experiments. If the in Connecticut could be attributed have forgotten the fundamental water quality remains the same, to several factors, the largest being shellfish management techniques and if the spat collector bags industrial and sewage pollution of essential for successful oyster receive d a set, the Connecticut harbors in Connecticut. In his farming. River will once again produce address titled Industrial Waste seed oysters. Reprinted from The Valley Newsletter, November 1982, Number 4 Easthampton, Mass. 01027 .

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