Glossary
Aquaculture: the farming of aquatic organisms for human consumption
‘Blank’ oyster shell: aged oyster shells used to plant new spat and to build up the lease bottom so that spat do not sink into the muddy bottom
Bottom culture: growing oysters on bottom substrates in natural conditions rather than in cages or floats in the water column
Culch/cultch: material to furnish points of attachment for spat
Culchless/cultchless: individual oysters grown for half-shell market rather than restoration and/or shuck market purposes
Cull: To remove parts from a group. Something picked out from others, especially something rejected because of inferior quality.
Diploid: organism with two sets of chromosomes
Downweller: a tank, with a downward flow of water, used for setting individual oysters on microculch (for half-shell market)
Dredge: a dredge having a heavy iron frame with strong teeth along its lower lip and a bag of strong cord and used for taking oysters in
Hand Tongs: a pair of wooden tongs12 to 20 feet long bearing opposing baskets shaped like rakes and used for gathering oysters
Hatchery: a facility where eggs are fertilized and hatched under artificial conditions
Half-shell market: select oysters cultured and prepared for individual sale
Keystone Species: A species so critical to an ecosystem that its removal could potentially destroy the entire system.
Larvae: the recently-hatched, swimming form of oysters
Lease bottom: an area of water leased from the State and used to plant oysters
Microculch: small pieces of cultch (i.e. ground oyster shells)
Nursery: the area where young oyster spat will grow out to the juvenile and/or adult stages
Plant: the act of putting spat-on shell on lease bottom, or putting oyster seed in cages to grow to market size
Seed: (see Spat) individual immature oysters, typically set on microcultch, usually ranging from 2mm to 3/4 inch
Set: the act of introducing swimming larvae to cultch so they ‘glue’themselves to cultch and metamorphose into spat
Shuck-market: oysters suitable for being sold in shucked form, typically less aesthetically pleasant than half-shell market oysters
Spat: immature oyster(s), an oyster is usually referred to as a spat during its first year of growth
Spat-on-shell (or spat-on-culch): young oysters residing on oyster shells, used primarily for restoration projects and for shuck-market
Strike: the transitional phase when swimming larvae ‘glue’ themselves to cultch and metamorphose into spat
Triploid: organism with three sets of chromosomes
Upweller: a tank, with an upward flow of water, used for rearing individual oysters on microculch for half-shell market
Water Column: a column of water leased from the State used to grow oysters in cages or floats
Weller: container placed in a downweller or upweller to hold microculch and oyster seed
Wild: non-farmed oyster stock
Aquaculture: the farming of aquatic organisms for human consumption
‘Blank’ oyster shell: aged oyster shells used to plant new spat and to build up the lease bottom so that spat do not sink into the muddy bottom
Bottom culture: growing oysters on bottom substrates in natural conditions rather than in cages or floats in the water column
Culch/cultch: material to furnish points of attachment for spat
Culchless/cultchless: individual oysters grown for half-shell market rather than restoration and/or shuck market purposes
Cull: To remove parts from a group. Something picked out from others, especially something rejected because of inferior quality.
Diploid: organism with two sets of chromosomes
Downweller: a tank, with a downward flow of water, used for setting individual oysters on microculch (for half-shell market)
Dredge: a dredge having a heavy iron frame with strong teeth along its lower lip and a bag of strong cord and used for taking oysters in
Hand Tongs: a pair of wooden tongs12 to 20 feet long bearing opposing baskets shaped like rakes and used for gathering oysters
Hatchery: a facility where eggs are fertilized and hatched under artificial conditions
Half-shell market: select oysters cultured and prepared for individual sale
Keystone Species: A species so critical to an ecosystem that its removal could potentially destroy the entire system.
Larvae: the recently-hatched, swimming form of oysters
Lease bottom: an area of water leased from the State and used to plant oysters
Microculch: small pieces of cultch (i.e. ground oyster shells)
Nursery: the area where young oyster spat will grow out to the juvenile and/or adult stages
Plant: the act of putting spat-on shell on lease bottom, or putting oyster seed in cages to grow to market size
Seed: (see Spat) individual immature oysters, typically set on microcultch, usually ranging from 2mm to 3/4 inch
Set: the act of introducing swimming larvae to cultch so they ‘glue’themselves to cultch and metamorphose into spat
Shuck-market: oysters suitable for being sold in shucked form, typically less aesthetically pleasant than half-shell market oysters
Spat: immature oyster(s), an oyster is usually referred to as a spat during its first year of growth
Spat-on-shell (or spat-on-culch): young oysters residing on oyster shells, used primarily for restoration projects and for shuck-market
Strike: the transitional phase when swimming larvae ‘glue’ themselves to cultch and metamorphose into spat
Triploid: organism with three sets of chromosomes
Upweller: a tank, with an upward flow of water, used for rearing individual oysters on microculch for half-shell market
Water Column: a column of water leased from the State used to grow oysters in cages or floats
Weller: container placed in a downweller or upweller to hold microculch and oyster seed
Wild: non-farmed oyster stock
