Remaining seed oystermen tough it out

• So goes the life of a seed oyster fisherman — a dying breed these days. Where once there were nearly 200 like Spease, today only a couple dozen seed oystermen work Connecticut's rivers, according to the state's Bureau of Aquaculture in Milford.

Where once the public scooped up 700,000 bags of 100 Connecticut oysters annually, last year only 52,861 bags sold at between $45 to $55 each, according to the bureau's statistics. Yet for nine hours a day, six days a week, nine months a year, Spease and Catalino will cruise the Housatonic River in Stratford from the Merritt Parkway bridge to the breakwater edge of Long Island Sound.

• Every 30 minutes or so their metallic mesh net scoops up several bushels of seed oysters. These are young oysters that must be transplanted in designated clean water areas. So at the end of the day, Spease sells his boatload to Norman Bloom and Sons of Norwalk. On a good day, he said the haul could bring as much as $1,500. On a bad day, it's $500. To some that may sound like a boom particularly when compared to the dire days of 2003-05.
• That came thanks to two parasites, Dermo and MSX, which flourished in the state's oyster beds in 1997 and 1998. At that time, oystermen were selling 180,000 bushels annually, according to the state Bureau of Aquaculture. In 1993-95, the number was closer to 700,000 bushels. But because of the parasites and the resulting oyster die-off, those numbers plummeted to just 23,041 bags of 100 oysters in 2005.Not only did the oyster harvest plummet, the number of harvesters also dropped from a couple hundred to two dozen, said David Carey, director of the Aquaculture bureau.
• The epidemic was so bad that the federal government provided $1 million in disaster aid to 23 oyster farmers. "Things have been pretty bad for about 10 years," said state Rep. Terry Backer, D-Stratford, the soundkeeper.
• "We're just starting to see a recovery."Carey said last year's oyster sales of 52,851 bags generated about $2.2 million — both more than double the previous year. He believes this year's figures may double those of 2006."We believe Connecticut's oysters are premium oysters," said Carey.
• "They are bigger, meatier and have a longer shelf-life because of the colder water temperatures."Oysters are dual sex. They spend their first year as males releasing sperm into the water. As they grow into their second and third years, they portray females releasing eggs into the water. Once the eggs are fertilized, they develop into larvae which can swim free for 14 days as they find a shell to settle on.
• The shells come from ostermen and agencies like the Stratford Shellfish Commission, which return them to the water. Within two years, they reach an edible size. They are captured in devices like the metallic mesh net on Spease's boat. He turns a pulley, which lifts and then lowers the cage-like net which drops some 20 feet into the Housatonic. He can troll it another 85 feet."It's like dragging an anchor," he said.
• After about 15 minutes, Spease wheels in the catch [and separates] the seed oysters, those 2.75 inches and smaller, from the rocks, crabs, fish and garbage. This goes on every day from Oct. 20 to July 20 during the leaf laden winds of fall, the biting icy winds of winter and the rain driven winds of spring.
• The state prohibits harvesting the Housatonic during that time frame so as not to disturb oyster spawning. The Housatonic shuts down a month longer because its waters are warm enough to support a second spawning, according to Carey.
• State law requires Bloom to transplant the purchases that day. Once that crew leaves Stratford they'll travel to one of the five oyster lots Bloom runs on Long Island Sound between Branford and Greenwich. The load will be slowly dumped overboard. These oysters must then remain there a minimum of six months to as much as two years determined by their size, before they can be harvested and sold to the public. (excerpted from an article by Michael P. Mayko, Connecticut Post)