Robert Cuddy

1 INTRODUCTION Over 95% of all oyster production in the United States currently comes from aquaculture, and the shellfish aquaculture industry in the Northeast continues to expand to meet growing consumer demand (GMRI, 2023). Suspended culture is the predominant oyster cultivation method in many regions of the world, although many farmers utilize bottom planting (in which oysters are grown directly on the sea floor without being contained in any sort of cage, bag, or basket) (Hood et al., 2024).