Oyster Culture in Queensland
Contents and Introduction
Oyster Culture in Queensland provides a snapshot of the State's oyster industry. The publication offers a quick insight into the industry's history which hit its peak in the early 1900s.
Still a viable industry today, Oyster Culture in Queensland covers such topics as growing techniques, harvesting and marketing and licensing. Easy to read and understand, both existing growers and those with a possible future interest in the industry will find this publication of great value.
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Contents
Intoduction
Commercial oyster species, Biology
General principles of oyster farming in South-East Queensland, Source of stock, Ground selection
Techniques
Stock loss
Harvesting and marketing
Licensing
Advice and consultancy, Acknowledgments, Further information
Introduction
Moreton Bay Rock Oyster, Saccostrea glomerata (Gould, 1850)
Subfamily: Crassostreinae
Family: Ostreidae
The harvesting of oysters in Queensland was a common practice from the 1870s to 1920 with a steady decline occurring soon after the early 1900s. Most of the harvest was exported to markets in Sydney and Melbourne and sold as 'Moreton Bay rock oysters '. The oyster industry was large in comparison to other Queensland fisheries with 250 men reputedly employed during the peak years. (G. S. Smith, 1985).
Product was either dredged from the deeper water or was harvested from ground banks that occurred naturally. The main harvest areas were from the Moreton Bay and Great Sandy Strait regions. In 1863 an 'Act for the Protection of Oyster Fisheries ' was proclaimed which prevented overexploitation caused by using live oysters for the production of lime used in mortar for the building of houses. In 1874 the first oyster licences were issued in the form of 'dredge sections ' in which specified areas were allocated to lessees. After the peak in the industry of 1904 -1908, factors such as mudworm disease and increased production from New South Wales led to the gradual decline in the Queensland oyster industry.
The Queensland Government has always played a regulatory role in administering and managing the oyster fishery in Queensland. This document provides a basic outlay of the industry as it exists today with reference to the culture methods and the biology of the Moreton Bay rock oyster. Oystering, like all forms of primary production farming, is not an exact science and is greatly influenced by the animal itself and the environmental effects upon the animal.
Given the natural variation in various growing areas, oyster growers have had to adapt their culture methods to suit. Some growers have developed their methods from trial and error while others have had a very long family association, with experience handed down over generations. To be a successful oyster farmer requires dedication and good observation skills. Farmers need to keep up-to-date with market demands, and current growing practices and procedures, and have a basic biological knowledge of how the oyster functions and how it is affected by external influences.
Next: Commercial oyster species, Biology
