ABSTRACT
The American oyster Crassostrea virginica is confined to the Atlantic coast of North America from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. Crassostrea virginica is the only commercial oyster grown along the coast of Canada and the US except for tray culture of Ostrea edulis Linnaeus in Maine and occasional imports of this European flat oyster to Canadian provinces. Oysters are adapted to the nutrient-rich, shallow, coastal waters of continents. The eastern coast of North America has many large rivers fed by rain and snow from drainage of mountains and wide coastal plains. When many Chesapeake oysters were imported to New England for sale or planting, it was found that they could be held on beds all summer in plump condition without spawning. Setting of oysters tends to be intensive in coastal bays such as those on the seaside of Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia, where little fresh-water input and extensive marsh systems allow retention of larvae.
