Oyster Farms by the Numbers
• In 2011 oyster farmers in Edgartown harvested 3,040 bushels of oysters valued at $729,000.
• In 2010 oyster farmers in Edgartown harvested 2,125 bushels of oysters valued at $510,000
• 20,000 oysters are moved on Katama Bay every week
• There are 1,276 acres in Katama Bay; 12 acres are devoted to oyster farms
• An oyster seed is 1.5 millimeters in diameter.
• The minimum size for a harvested oyster is three inches.
• Katama Bay oyster farmers bought four million oyster seed this year.
• One oyster can filter 30 gallons of water in a day.
• 10,000 active, growing oysters will remove enough nitrogen from the pond equivalent to one household.
• 26 Massachusetts towns have oyster farming.
• There are 300 shellfish farmers statewide; 1,000 acres are devoted to shellfish farming.
Sources: Edgartown town reports, Jack Blake, Rick Karney, Sean Bowen, state Dept. of Marine Fisheries
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