|
Making
an Oyster Bed
Tiny oyster larvae - about 300
microns in length - attach themselves
to clean, hard surfaces by ejecting
a cement-like adhesive from
their foot glands. When material
called "cuitch" -
mollusk shells or other chalky
substances - is placed on the
river bottom, the young oysters
become attached to it in a process
known as "setting"
or "spatting."
|
|
Oysters on Board
Using a rake-like tool called a "tong,"
commercial oyster fishers harvest almost
300,000 kilograms of Malpeque oysters every
year from the bottom of the Hillsborough
River. The 18-week fishing season, managed
by the Canadian Department of Fisheries
and Oceans, generates about 1/3 of Prince
Edward Island's $4 million industry. The
beds of Malpeque Bay and Summerside Harbour
and the West River make up the remainder
of the catch.
In comparison to the American oyster industry,
centered in Chesapeake Bay and along the
coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the Canadian
oyster fishery is modest. Water temperatures
in Canadian coastal areas are generally
too cold to support oyster reproduction.
Only the warmer waters and saline features
of estuaries and bays such as the Hillsborough,
or the Miramichi Bay in New Brunswick, offer
suitable growing conditions.
Slow But Good:
Firm, non-shifting bottoms produce the highest-grade
oysters. Of the estimated 6200 hectares
of good oyster bottom in the Canadian Maritimes,
about 60% occur in privately leased areas,
with about 10% in natural beds open for
public use, and the remaining 30% unused.
Oysters grown in Canadian waters tend to
take longer to mature to the legal market
length of 76 millimetres (4- 7 years, compared
to 2 years in warmer Gulf of Mexico waters),
but their slow growth contributes to their
excellent quality.
Rakes, Tongs and
Dredges: Harvesting the Oyster
While oysters may be picked by hand at low
tide, in shallow waters, commercial harvesting
employs a variety of tools:
Rakes are used on sloping bottoms
in depths up to 7.6 metres. The rakes have
long handles and long, curved teeth; wire
netting may be attached to the back of the
head.
Tongs are used on level bottoms in
depths of up to 5.4 metres. They consist
of 2 long-handled rakes hinged about 1/3
of the distance from the heads, and may
have a basket of wire netting on the back
of one or both of the heads.
Dredges, or drags, are used at greater
depths, in large-scale operations. A large
rake-head, backed with a bag, is attached
to a strong rope. It is towed over the bottom
by a powered boat and hoisted by hand or
by mechanical device. For conservation purposes,
dredges are not permitted on public grounds.
| Potatoes,
Pigs and Poultry
Ever since Acadian settlers
of the early 18th century converted
saltmarshes into cropland, the
lands surrounding the Hillsborough
River have remained predominantly
rural and agricultural. While
specialized farming and monoculture
- primarily of the famous PEI
potato - has replaced the mixed
farming practices of Prince
Edward Island's early years,
the agricultural profile of
the Hillsborough watershed remains
varied. Beef, hog, poultry and
dairy farms are interspersed
with fields of potatoes and
other cash crops.
|
|
|
