Page 1
| Page 2 | Page
3 | Page 4 | Page 5
Animal scientist finds pearl of a career
from predators. In six months, the oysters grow to a length of two
inches. All the while, they are cleaning their environment. An adult
oyster filters five gallons of water an hour.
The oysters are then removed from the baskets and relocated to various
natural reefs that need to be restored throughout Mobile Bay. The oysters
should spawn the following year, which will increase the population
for the reef. Increasing oyster populations not only helps clear the
water, but provides habitat for various species of aquatic life.
While the oyster gardening program has grown to around 50 volunteer
"gardeners" this year, she says it may take 10 times that
number to make a significant environmental impact on the bay.
"This is the best part of my job," Hamilton says. "I
get to teach people about oyster ecology and environmental stewardship.
Plus, it's good to work with a species that is good for the environment."
There's also something to be said for working with a product Hamilton
enjoys eating, too.
"I ate a lot of oysters when I was doing my master's research,
and I really got to like them. I probably still eat oysters twice a
week," she says.
Hamilton hopes to one day parlay her love of oysters into a career
as a full-time oyster farmer producing her own line of designer oysters.
"Aquaculture is an up-and-coming industry," she says. "One
of the things that really attracted me was that I knew I could get into
it and eventually start my own business with what I have learned."
What Hamilton has learned by using the Taylor Floats has helped produce
a cleaner oyster. But she would produce a more uniformly shaped oyster
shell that is more visually appealing to the consumer and provides a
more uniform oyster, too.
"It's called tumbling," Hamilton explains. "The process
does to oysters what a rock-polishing machine does to stones. It knocks
off the rough edges.
"Commercial oyster farmers will periodically take the oysters
out of the growout bags and put them in a machine that tumbles them
over and over. This breaks away the uneven edges and sorts the oysters
by size so they are all just about the same size and shape at harvest."
Dauphin Island is a long way from her family farm in Flat Rock, Ind.
But Hamilton insists there are some similarities.
"Aquaculture is farming, which is raising an agricultural product
for profit," she says. "We're just raising oysters instead
of hogs and corn."
Contact Hamilton at kihamilton@disl.org
Page 1
| Page 2 | Page
3 | Page 4 | Page 5
