ABSTRACT
The cleansing of oysters via relaying and depuration procedures is a costly means of marketing oysters in the United States. In the absence of broodstock maintenance, feeding, disease control, the procedures could be viewed as processing. Mariculture would also be a defensible viewpoint. Depuration involves securing, maintaining, and producing living organisms for market. The former was represented by a listing and discussion of general characteristics of importance to the economic performance of depuration systems. The latter, detailed analysis, aspect describes a specific system and related proforma financial statements. A desirable means of approaching economic considerations is to analyze and report results from a survey of oyster depuration businesses. A depuration firm must also determine how operating regulations could affect efficiency. Economic considerations of a regulatory nature, those associated with raw material input to the system, facility design operating efficiency, marketing components, and capital acquisition were all quantified.
