Testing What Works in Oyster Aquaculture: Planting Gear in the Choptank

This floating oyster growing cage will be outfitted with six mesh bags containing oysters. In this orientation, the cages (and oysters) are submerged, allowing the bivalves to feed. But as the bags become fouled with algae and other marine organisms, the whole rig can be flipped over to expose the contents to the sun’s rays. Periodic exposure to the sun can kill many fouling organisms. Photo: Daniel Pendick

Sam Moxey (left) and Tom Butler, interns at the Horn Point Laboratory Oyster Hatchery, prepare the growing cages for deployment in a tidal area on the lower Choptank. This location provides both a rich source of food for oysters but also a relatively protected environment, with gentle currents and small to moderate wave motion. Photo: Daniel Pendick

The team shepherds floating oyster-growing growing cages out to a spot where they will be clipped to a metal post secured to the river bottom. The pilings in the background at left are part of a different type of oyster-growing system. Photo: Daniel Pendick

In its oyster-growing orientation, the pontoons supporting the cages sit above the water line. But notice the large green caps at the end of the floats: these can be opened to allow water to enter the floats and sink the cages to the bottom during rough weather. Photo: Daniel Pendick

Lines of floating oyster-growing cages are tethered to steel rods, each with a corkscrew-like end rotated into the river-bottom sediment to secure it. Oyster Hatchery intern Tom Butler (right) twists an auger into the river bottom, assisted by Shannon Hood, a staff member at the hatchery who manages the demo farm. Photo: Daniel Pendick

The floating oyster-growing cages are attached to each other by nylon rope. When anchored at both ends to the river bottom, the lines of floats can withstand fairly rough wave action, although in this spot they are semi-protected. Photo: Daniel Pendick

As more cages are moored in place, an oyster-production flotilla begins to take shape at the demonstration farm. Photo: Daniel Pendick

As the morning’s work winds down, the team members pause for a group portrait. Pictured from left to right are interns Tom Butler, Chelsie Bateman, and Sam Moxey. Shannon Hood, project manager for the oyster demo farm, sits at right. Photo: Daniel Pendick