MGO Resources and Instructions

Oyster Care

Water Depth: In order to host oyster cages, you need a minimum of two feet of water at your lowest tide. Drop your cage off the dock until it hits the bottom, then pull it up about a foot or two and tie it off. Cages need to be suspended in the water column - off of the muddy bottom so the oysters don't suffocate and under water at low tide so they are not exposed to freezing air or trapped in ice during the winter. Oysters can be exposed to warm air for a number of hours and survive, but even short periods of exposure to freezing air can kill them.


Maintenance & Monitoring: During warmer months, dunking the cages once a week will help keep silt and sediment off the oysters. Sediments can suffocate the vulnerable spat. Once the water warms up in the spring, the cages will begin to foul with algae growth. Taking the cages out of the water and allowing them to dry for 2 hours will help limit fouling, as will scrubbing the cages with a wire brush or power-washing.


September: Oyster Recovery Partnership delivers cages and bags with spat-on-shell. Growers collect their cages and spat.


March: Oysters are feeding more; make sure cages and oysters are free of mud to allow water to flow freely. Maintain cages to prevent fouling.


May/June: Oysters are planted on an oyster sanctuary on your local river. Store cages out of the water in a dry place for the summer; this rids them of algae and mud.
