My “spat” really began to take on the shape of an oyster shell this past week. Once again, due to falling water temperatures, there was very little fouling or growth on my cages.
Here’s what you should do for maintenance this week:
- Actively dunk your cages up and down in the water to remove silt and sediment from the spat so that they don’t smother and die.
- Give your cages a quick shake to keep the oysters from growing together.
- Leave the cages on your dock for about an hour to let any growth that has occurred to dry out and die.
- Set a timer so that you don’t forget to put the oysters back in the water!
- Make sure that your oysters are evenly distributed on the bottom of the cage and put them back in the water.
Please make sure that your cages never rest on the creek or river bottom. The oysters will quickly become smothered in mud and die.
Soon it will be time to put our oysters to “bed” for the winter. This should happen in the next month or so, depending on water temperature. We will keep you posted.
That’s it for this week. Please call Suzanne at 410-822-9143 if you have any problems with the maintenance of your cages. Talk to you next week!
Sincerely,
Scott W. Eglseder, Founder
The Chesapeake Bay “Advance and Protect” Oyster Reef Recovery Initiative