THE BIRTH OF AN OYSTER

When water in which the adult oyster lives reaches a temperature of 68 to 70 degrees, which is about room temperature, spawning takes place. The female oyster produces about 16,000,000 eggs, the male genital products are many times smaller than the eggs. Fertilization of the eggs occurs in the water. After spawning the newly born larvae is so small that it can barely be seen by the naked eye. So small is it that, when one day old, a bottle the size of an average man's little finger would hold about 1,000,000 of these young oyster and would produce, if they all matured, about 4,000 bushels of marketable oysters. If properly fertilized, a period of approximately fourteen days pass, before the oyster "sets" or "strikes" this period is known as the free swimming stage. After attachment the oyster remains on the object to which it attaches itself to and grows in two to four years into juicy succulent marketable oysters obtaining a length of about 4 to 6 inches. They are then ready for harvesting.