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THE FAILURE IN THE NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIAN OYSTER SUPPLIES.


In both New South Wales and Victoria the condition of affairs in
connection with the oyster fisheries and the oyster yield is extremely
discouraging. So much so, that unless something is done--and done
quickly--we may have to rely mainly on outside resources for our
supply. Even at the present time this is the case to a greater extent
than most people have any idea of. In support of this statement, as far
as New South Wales is concerned, it is only necessary to turn to the
last Fisheries Report for the year ending 1890. There it is pointed out
that in that year, notwithstanding the enormous length of our
oyster-bearing foreshores, we are brought face to face with the fact that
we are indebted to other colonies--New Zealand and Queensland--
for TWO-THIRDS of our supply. Again, Mr. Lindsay Thompson, the chief
inspector of New South Wales fisheries, in his recent official work,
THE FISHERIES OF NEW SOUTH WALES, makes the following statements:--In
the year 1871 no less than 93,000 bushels of oysters were obtained from
the New South Wales beds, which, indeed, helped to supply the Victorian
as well as our own needs; in the year 1883 there was a fall to 46,377
bushels; while in 1891 our fisheries yielded only 14,181 bushels. This
is a very significant shrinkage, and shows a remarkable falling off in
the winnings. It is still maintained by some, however, that there has
been a succession of bad spatting years, and that the supply may yet
reach to something of its old proportions.

It will be instructive, then, in this connection to refer briefly to
the efforts which legislation has made to remedy matters in New South
Wales. Under the old Oyster Beds Act of 1868 the areas given to lessees
were somewhat large, and consequently what with the prolific natural
supply, and a relatively small population, they appeared to be doing
too well. It was urged, therefore, that the holdings should be more
restricted in size, and that in this way a large number of small
occupiers would be afforded a means of living, while at the same time
these smaller areas would receive more attention. By the Fisheries Act
of 1881 a new era dawned upon the oyster fisheries of this colony, and
a system of licensing small holdings was initiated. Under this Act
licensed dredging was permitted, but with such disastrous results that
within two years a Fisheries Act Amendment Act had to be passed. What
happened, in short, was that the beds were actually skinned, so that
the total disappearance of the oyster was looming in the distance. But
even the passing of this latter Act was powerless to check the evil,
and by the Oyster Fisheries Act of 1884 (the present Act) there
was a reversal to the old system of long leases and larger holdings.
Even at the present time matters are far from perfect, and in the
opinion of the Commissioners of Fisheries some radical change is
necessary if oyster production is to have a place at all. Now, it is
true that the present Act has checked the wholesale extermination of
oysters on the part of licensed dredgers. But, unfortunately, in its
passage through Parliament, some unhappy amendments totally altered the
intention of the Bill. For instance, one clause makes it penal to
remove oysters from a reserve or leased area without authority; but
omits the protection of oysters on adjoining foreshores which may not
be under lease at all; and it has accordingly happened that
unprincipled persons have proceeded to rob the adjacent unleased beds
of every single oyster they contained.

But while faulty and inoperative legislation may be responsible in part
for the failure in our oysteries, it is certain that other causes must
be at work to bring about such a disastrous result. And in the
different annual reports on the fisheries of the colony this is
attributed to various reasons. Thus at some places, between the
Richmond and Port Macquarie, it has been set down to the presence of
quantities of decomposing sea-weed on the oyster beds; in the Manning
to deposits of mud and sand; and elsewhere again to the ravages of a
small worm. Besides these causes, too, it has been ascribed to the long
continued absence of floods, with a consequent increased salinity of
the water--the latter being considered inimical to oyster life. In the
opinion of scientific writers, water containing 3 per cent. of salt is
most suitable for oyster development, water above that salinity being
too strong, and that below it too weak. It has also been well pointed
out by Mr. henry Woodward, in his admirable pamphlet on Oyster Culture
in New South Wales, that most of our deep water beds are
situated in the rivers, a little way from the sea. Under favourable
circumstances there is just that commingling of the fresh water from
the river and the salt water from the sea which produces the oyster to
perfection. In times of drought, however, the salt water drives out the
oysters from the deeper beds by reason of its greater density. On the
other hand, the fresh water, being the lighter, floats at the top and
enables the oysters to live in the shallower parts, by maintaining the
required 3 per cent. of salinity. It is evident from this, that the
lessees have acted in direct opposition to this natural law, for they
have stripped the oysters from the shallow water, where they would have
done well, and laid them down on the deep beds, where the increased
percentage of salt water has proved too much for them.

Dr. James C. Cox, of Sydney, the President of the Fisheries Commission,
and our best known authority on conchology, has contributed a very
valuable paper upon "The Australian Oyster, its Cultivation and
Destruction," to the recent official work, THE FISHERIES OF NEW SOUTH
WALES, already referred to. A brief summary of his views will,
therefore, be full of interest. First of all, then, he separates
oysters into three classes, namely, drift oysters, mud oysters, and
rock oysters. Now, this classification must be clearly borne in mind,
as it will the better enable the reader to understand what follows. He
attributes the want of success in our oysteries to several causes,
which have not been sufficiently heeded. One of these is that the
oyster culturists have expected that the seed oysters which they
obtained from between high and low water mark (rock oysters) would
produce drift oysters if placed on beds on which drift oysters once
throve in abundance. Dr. Cox maintains, however, that these two kinds
of oysters, the rock oysters and the drift oysters, are quite
different, and, as it will be seen, believes that they require
different food. It can be well understood from this, then, that rock
oysters will fail to grow on drift-oyster beds.

As to the mud oyster, he thinks very highly of it, and regrets that it
has been so ignored by our oyster culturists. He is quite sure that if
our mud oyster were cultivated and educated as it is now in Europe, it
would be brought to the same perfection as the European and American
oyster. It has been said of our mud oyster that it will not keep, and
will not carry; but the same was said of its European representative
until its cultivators came to discover that by a gradual process of
raising it could be educated to keep quite long enough for all
commercial purposes.

To come to the real point on which Dr. Cox considers that all oyster
culture has failed in Australian waters. It is an established fact that
the drift oyster and also the mud oyster require a diatomatic food for
their existence. These two varieties of oysters no doubt consume other
forms of food, but living diatoms constitute by far the greatest part.
On the contrary, the rock oyster does not appear to need the diatomatic
nutriment to sny extent, and is fed chiefly by larval forms of marine
life. Thus, knowing that the drift and mud oysters require different
food from the rock oyster, it is easy to see why our oyster culturists
have failed in establishing new beds of oysters in various places. For
the whole purport of Dr. Cox's paper may be summarised into expressing
his belief that sufficient attention has not been devoted to the
replenishment of our natural beds, WITH THEIR OWN KIND.

In former days, when our drift and mud oysters were in their prime,
there were many pools of naturally preserved fresh water--in fact,
often very extensive lakes--on the banks of many of the
estuaries and inlets running up into our rivers and creeks. Now, these
reservoirs appear to have been constantly supplied by subaqueous
springs of fresh water, and in consequence the supply of diatomatic
food was abundant. It was abundant, because, as it is well known,
diatomatic life depends for its existence, to a great extent, on the
presence of fresh water. These collections of fresh water no longer
exist, so that the diatomatic food supply is not forthcoming to
maintain the drift and the mud oyster. But there are other additional
causes for the disappearance of these latter. The surrounding ground
has been cleared for agricultural purposes, and the earth, broken up by
ploughing, has been washed into these estuaries, and has suffocated, as
it were, the oysters in their natural position. Again, the water which
flows over the oysters is continually being disturbed by the different
steamers passing up and down. The stirred-up mud they create gets into
the gills, and destroys the oysters.

From the preceding it will be seen that Mr. Cox is of opinion that the
loss of diatomatic food is one of the principal causes in diminishing
the supply of drift and mud oysters, and in addition he believes that
this decrease has been also brought about by muddy water. Indeed,
fairly clear water is absolutely necessary for their existence. On the
contrary, water loaded with any sediment interferes with the functions
of the oyster so much as to destroy it. In this way floods are
considered to be beneficial, and even almost necessary, to proper
oyster development; for they clear out the accumulations of mud, silt,
and marine vegetable growth, thus giving the beds every chance. And
further, Mr. Thomas Whitelegge, of the Australian Museum, has made some
investigations into what is known as the "worm disease," due to the
POLYDORA CILIATA. It was commonly suppose that it was not the
worm itself which was fatal, but that by boring through the shell it
afforded entrance for the fine mud, which quickly destroyed the oyster.
From the result of his researches, however, Mr. Whitelegge believes
that the young worm simply swims into the open oyster, and that it
immediately begins to construct a tube and collect a large quantity of
mud. The worms appear to have the power of collecting a large quantity
of mud in a very short time. The mud is covered over at once by the
oyster with a thin layer of shelly matter, thus enveloping the worm,
together with its mud. After this, one of two things happens: if the
oyster be healthy, it envelops the worm and mud so quickly as to
dispose of the intruder for good; but, on the other hand, if the oyster
be unhealthy, or already infested, the shelly deposition is far slower,
as a consequence of which the worm gains the ascendency, and the oyster
succumbs.

In Victoria, too, the oyster fisheries are in a most unsatisfactory
condition. According to Mr. Saville Kent, the author of THE GREAT
BARRIER REEF OF AUSTRALIA and formerly Commissioner of Fisheries in
several of the Australian colonies, and who is qualified to speak on
these matters, the destruction of the oyster there has been brought
about by sedimentary deposits, by parasitic growths, such as sponges,
mussels, ascidians, and sea-weed; by the attacks of the dog-whelk and
other natural enemies; and by their continual removal by human agency.
He points out that there are the remains of magnificent natural beds in
different parts, but that they are on the verge of ruin through neglect
on the one hand and the invasion of poachers on the other. In short, he
very plainly shows that unless active measures be taken for their
general resuscitation and development, Victoria will have to look
elsewhere for her oyster supply.