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Fisheries and Aquaculture Journal
open access

Brief Note on Oyster Culture

DOI :

Section : Commentary

Published Date : May 05,2022

Lede

Abstract

Oyster farming is one of the most popular types of marine aquaculture in the United States. A total of 31 million pounds of oysters were gathered with a dockside value of 135 million. Because it does not account for the ecological value of the fish species that use oyster reefs as a food source and nursery habitat, nor the coastal protection and water-quality services oyster reefs provide, this is likely a poor assessment of the oyster's overall worth. When both the economic and ecological importance of oyster reefs is taken into account, the figure rises into the billions. Oysters are bivalves, which mean they have two shells, one comprised of calcium carbonate released by their mantle tissue and the other protecting their delicate bodies from predators and the environment. The oyster's gills not only "pump" water for oxygen, but they also filter particles from the water for the oyster to consume. The food collected by the gills and labial palps become part of the crystalline style, a mucous thread that is reeled into the stomach. The gut is made up of diffuse tissue that serves as both a digestive and reproductive organ.

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