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Tray Culture:

Oyster trays made of galvanised wire netting & wattle sticks or sawn hardwood made their appearance during the 1930s & 40s. After initially growing on sticks, the oysters were knocked off & put into trays supported by posts at mid-tide level. Because no tar was initially used, tray replacement was necessary every few years due to borer damage.

 

Around the 1950s tarred wooden posts (called “pegs”) & slats of sawn hardwood came into use to make horizontal racks on which the trays were laid. The trays themselves were also tarred once a year.

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Trays have many advantages as a cultivation method - they are more portable, easier to manage & allow precise stocking densities to encourage a more uniform & marketable shape. They are now usually one metre wide & from 1.8 to 2.7 metres in length.

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Horizontal racks with oyster trays on Merimbula’s Top Lake, C. 1960s.  © The Estate of A. C. Bubby George.
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