Maryland's Chesapeake Bay commercial fisheries

[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

MARYLANDS
CHESAPEAKE BAY
CONUvWRCIAL FISHERIES'

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
SH TIDEWATER ADMINISTRATION
222 COASTAL RESOURCES DIVISION

1978

MARYLAND'S CHESAPEAKE BAY

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES

November 1978

Edited by
Mark M. Bundy and John B. Williams

Prepared for the
Energy and Coastal Zone Administration
Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Development Sciences, Inc.
P.O. Box 144
Sagamore, Mass. 02561

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NOAA
COASTAL SERVICES CENTER
2234 SOUTH HOBSON AVENUE
CHARLESTON, SC 29405-2413

Preparation of this report was
partially funded by a grant
from the Office of Coastal Zone Managment,t
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Property of CSC Library

ACKNOWLEDCEMENTS

Special thanks are given to Bill Sieling, Don Webster,

Doug Ritchie, Tony @Iazzaccaro, and Howard Mueller for

sharing their knowledge and experience in assisting in

the preparation of this report. Thanks are also due

the Maryland Fisheries Administration, Maryland Water-

ments Association, and Gordon Hallock and Bob Prier of

Maryland's Department of Economic and Community

Development's Seafood Marketing Division.

We also thank Matthew Norman for designing the cover

for this report.

The cooperation of all those interviewed is greatly

appreciated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. SUMMARY I

II. REPORT BASIS AND METHOD 12
A. Approach 12
B. References Explanation 13
III. MARYLAND 1; S CHESAPEAKE BAY COMMERCIAL FISHERIES:
DEFINITION AND CHARACTERIZATION 15
A. The Bay Habitat 15
1. Geographic Basis 15
2. Concentrations of Commercial Stocks 19
Oysters 19
Soft-Shell Clams 22
Blue Crabs 23
Finfish 24
3. Watershed Relationship 27
4. Water Quality Summary 31
B. Community Framework 33
C. Harvesting Sector 39
1. Introduction 39
2. Species Sought 42
3. Seasonal Characteristics 43
4. Harvest Methods and Gear Types 48
Seasonality and Movements 48
The Boats 51
Gear Types 52
5. Current Trends in the Harvesting Sector 61
Biological Fluxes 61
Attitudes 62
Gear Technology 64
Gear Conflicts 65
Legal Decisions 66
D. Shoreside Sale, Handling, Processing, and Distribution 70
1. Introduction 70
2. Purchases Over the Dock 76
3. Handling and Processing Details 79
4. Costs for Purchase and Handling 85
5. Identification of Shucking-Picking Centers 90
6. Product Distribution 91
7. Product Destination 93
8. Shoreside Sale, Processing and Distribution: Trends 94
E. Institutional Framework 100
1. Federal Activities 100
2. Maryland Activities 103

TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Continued)
age

IV. FISHERIES SYSTEM: INPUT-OUTPUT CHARACTERIZATION ill
112. Maryland Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fisheries
System by Disaggregated Categories 115
Watermen/Household 115
Services to Watermen 115
Primary Buyer/Packer--Regional Secondary
Wholesaler/Distributor 116
Services to Buyer-- Di s tri butor 117
Retailer and Ex-Region Wholesaler 118
State 118
3. Product and Service Transaction Network 119

APPENDIX ONE: OBSERVATIONS ON MARYLAND'S COASTAL
FISHERIES OCEAN CITY

APPENDIX TWO: MARYLAND SURVEY INTERVIEWS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SUMMARY

Introduction

This document has been prepared with support from the Maryland Department

of Natural Resources, Energy and Coastal Zone Administration as the first

stage of Maryland's participation in the Office of Coastal Zone Management 's

Coastal Fisheries Assistance Program.

Reported are results from a field interview study conducted around the

Maryland Chesapeake Bay shore. Sections following represent a concensus of

opinions held by those interviewed (government officials, industry spokes-

men, and watermen) rather than an interpretation and evaluation of data

collection and analysis.

The Maryland fisheries described and characterized here have been limited

to Chesapeake Bay commercial fisheries for oysters, soft-shell clams, blue

crabs, and finfish. The Bay habitat itself is described, followed by des-

criptionsof fishing community framework, the harvesting sector, the shoreside

support and sale system, and the institutional framework affecting Bay com-

mercial fisheries.

The commercial fisheries system* as detailed in following sections re-

fl ects the manner in which the fisheries are actually practiced, starting with

the geographic foundations characterizing the Bay habitat and recognizing their

major influences structuring community behavior, harvest activities, and shore-

side support and product distribution. The waterman and his economic system

*References to "fisheries system" in the following text are limited to Bay
commercial fisheries. Recreational or ocean fisheries are not included.

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has more in common with other coastal, estuarine fishermen all along the East

Coast of the United States than with many of his fellow Marylanders, suggesting

the way of life resulting from rural, small-scale fisheries is defined and

characterized mostly by the habitat upon which those fisheries depend. For

Maryland Bay commercial fisheries the Bay estuarine system is fundamental to

an understanding of individual character, social behavior, and product economics.

This report has been structured to accurately picture the interrelated,

holistic nature of all aspects of Bay fisheries. Participants within the

commercial fishery system see their actions as a small part of a highly com-

plex, variable natural process, and the following presentation seeks to honestly

reflect their views.

Content

Material presented here is based upon extensive field investigation cover-

ing 3,000 miles along the Maryland shore, about 35 formal interviews with

watermen, dealers, and government personnel, many informal discussions along

the waterfront, and a literature review.

The points identified in this summary suggest obs6rvations and trends

drawn from the main body of this report and have been structured in the same

order as the report itself. Supporting detail. and background can be found

in subsequent text.

Following identification of significant factors (as determined from

fieldwork) are several concluding statements concerning how these factors

may apply to future management approaches. This section: "Implications

for Management" represents the views of the consultants who prepared

this report.

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The Bay Habitat (Section III-A)

First discussed is Bay geography. The Bay habitat system is described.

Concentrations of commercial stocks within the Bay geographical setting are

outlined, followed by their relationship to the watersheds feeding the Bay.

The quality of Bay waters is finally summarized.

Significant factors drawn from the text include:

9 Salinity conditions within Bay waters are an important factor for the
Bay's productivity and rich variety of species.

* While all Bay organisms can survive salinity fluctuations (and in most
cases require seasonal fluctuations during the year as a major element
of their life processes), sudden changes can be fatal. Consequently,
those Bay-waters experiencing relatively stable seasonal fluctuations
from year to year are most productive for commercial shellfish harvest.
These areas include waters between the Bay Bridge and the Potomac
River, Eastern Bay and upper Tangier Sound.

- The waters between the Bay Bridge and Potomac River are well
south of the Susquehanna discharge and north of most large
Western Shore@watershed drainages;

- Eastern Bay and upper Tangier Sound are nearly enclosed systems
on the Eastern Shore;

- Both Eastern Bay and upper Tangier Sound are fed by small
watersheds and surrounded by large wetlands with large storage
capacities in the event of heavy rain.

# General habitat quality decline is considered a long-term trend,
including:

- Adverse long-term effects from increasing Bay turbidity as a
result of soil erosion, nonpoint source runoff, and pollution;

- Serious concerns about effects of toxic chemicals on Bay
organisms;

- Loss of rooted aquatic plants in the headwaters of most
tributaries.

* Closures of Bay acreage to shellfishing have increased tenfold in
recent years; today the headwaters of nearly all tributaries are
closed to shellfishing.

-4-

Communit
,y_Framework (Section III-B)

The community structure serving Bay fisheries is then detailed, focus-

ing on the following factors:

9 Bay geography underlies the entire community system.

9 The many separate yet interdependent fishing communities have evolved
from and still depend upon biological and environmental fluxes.

9 Community structure represents a long-standing tradition of extended
family settlement and kinship interaction.

@ The small size and dispersion of Bay fishing communities reflects the
need for low-overhead, flexible, ingenious responses to those biological
fluctuations guiding the fisheries upon whi,ch communities depend.

9 Many communities face shoreside development pressures as transportation
systems improve and facilitate suburban development, today observed
spreading south from Kent Island.

* The integrated "make do" community economic framework benefits from
the spread of dollars received for Bay species and the many noncash
exchanges for materials and services.

* Most fishing communities today are composed of families choosing to
remain and follow the water; attitudes for the future are optimistic.

harvesting Section (Section III-C)

The harvesting sector is introduced with a general discussion of har-.

vesting activities and followed by description of those species sought and

their seasonal characteristics. Harvest methods Are then outlines, indicat-

ing fishing activites by season, the boats used, and the gear types used.

Catch summaries for commercial species are provided. Trends observed in the

harvesting sector are finally presented. Significant factors drawn from the

text include:

Watermen are required to work closely with the natural conditions of
the Bay.

* The seasonal fluctuations of the Bay and associated productivity under-
lie all fishing activity.

e Watermen must be flexible and ingenious in order to survive; overcoming
the risks they face is a source of deep satisfaction.

e Watermen, since the Bruce decision (a 1971 Court ruling invalidating
county residency requirements as a precondition to shellfish harvest)*
have traveled the Bay increasingly, resulting in a Bay-wide, rather
than a county-by-county fishery.

* Although capital equipment aboard boats is growing more sophisticated,
watermen respect the gear restrictions they now face, understanding
the danger of technology overpowering sensitive fishery stocks.

e The uncertainty of fishery income represents a challenge to be overcome.

Recent and important trends include:

e Generally Bay productivity demonstrates both a cyclical low point as
well as a general decline.

o Watermen take great pride in their work and many young men are entering
the fishery, nearly all from local families and communities.

9 Gross incomes, in conjunction with a partially non-cash economy, appear
to be reasonable, although capital costs and operating expenses have
increased faster than incomes.

e Gear conflicts among watermen continue to exist, although eclipsed by
conflicts with part-timers taking peaks during periods of abundance.

e Since the Bruce decision, mobility and flexibility ha ve clearly increased.

e The Seacoast decision (a United States Supreme Court ruling invalidating
State residency requirements for the taking of fish within State waters)**
has Maryland watermen concerned fishermen from other states will move
into Maryland Bay waters.

e Apprenticeship programs are felt necessary by watermen to avoid more
drastic limited entry schemes.

* Most watermen stand opposed to the leasing of public bottoms.

Bruce vs. Director, Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs
Douglas vs. Seacoast Products, Inc. (1977)

-6-

Shoreside Sale, Handling, Processi,ng and Distribution (Section III-PI

The shoreside sale, handling, processing and distribution of Bay prod-

ucts is next defined in the report. Specific quantitative estimates are

generally lacking due to the private nature of transactions and insistence

upon proprietary information . Purchases over the dock are first explained,

followed by handling and processing details, costs (where available) of

purchasing and handling, idectification of shucking-picking centers, product

distribution techniques, product estimations, and trends observed.

Significant factors drawn from the text include:

a Dealer operations are often based on community kinship patterns and
Bay geography.

e Most dealers handle all Bay products to some degree; like watermen,
they require flexibility and ingenuity to functio*n.

e Serious labor problems exist for the shucking of oysters and the pick-
ing of crabs.

e The markets for conventional Maryland products narrow as fresh seafood
is replaced by frozen products.

0 Most dealers operate on small and variable profit margins, limiting
investment in the capital equipment required to maintain economic
efficiency.

* A need for automated processing machinery must be met if Maryland is
to gain economic multipliers now largely enjoyed by Virginia due to
oyster shipment there. Maryland also loses the oyster shell-stock to
Virginia in these transactions. Much of the potential value of al.1
Maryland Bay products is reduced by these transactions.

* Dealers function on a personal basis with watermen in associations of
mutual benefit.

* Most sales over the dock are cash transactions.

* Extensive product flows occur among dealers to fell and balance indi-
vidual orders.

* Prices are fixed at the retail level; the dealer is increasingly re-
quired to control his costs and purchases'from watermen if he is to
make a profit.

-7-

# Most dealers are required to function on a day-to-day basis.

0 Government activities such as OSHA regulations increase the cost of
business overhead without increasing productivity.

Important trends include:
# The number of Maryland oysters shucked in Virginia increases on
a yearly basis, representing close to eight-tenths of the oysters
landed in Maryland.

* Bootleg crabmeat.represents a large but unquantifiable home-based
industry. I

# Sanitation problems are present concerning bootleg crabmeat; poor soft-
shell clam quality has caused some shipments to New York to be rejected.

* Dealers are branching into related marine bus inesses: ice, fuel,
marina repairsand tourist services to broaden their annual business
base.

# Products from other states increasingly compete with Maryland pro-
ducts, both within Maryland and elsewhere.

# Transportation costs have risen as have labor costs, decreasing
business profit margins even further.

e Despite capital costs, at least two areas of the Bay have developed
promising crab-picking machines.

# Several of the larger Maryland processing houses have been purchased
by large, out-of-state corporations.

s Some dealers feel the state should promote leasing areas to provide
consistent oyster supplies, although this position was taken by a
minority of those interviewed.

Institutional Framework (Section III-E)

The institutions affecting Chesapeake Bay fisheries are next discussed

in the report. Federal actions are mentioned, followed by a description of

the Mar yland Fisheries Administration, the Health Department, and the Marine

Police. Finally, various industry associations are detailed.

Significant factors include:

o Federal anti-pollution efforts are not yet capable of dealing with
nonpoint sources of pollution.

-8-

e As yet, not enough is known concerning the effects of such toxics
as kepone, sulfuric acid, or other chemicals on Bay species.

9 Present federal fisheries management philosophy, oriented toward quanti-
tative processes of control and influence, is not yet suitable
to the complex and variable Bay system.

# The existing complex geographically-based state management system,
focused on gear restrictions compatible with Bay resource charac-
teristics, strong enforcement, extensive interaction with watermen,
and an active oyster propagation program, is highly successful.

e A habitat management approach for the Bay fisheries, in keeping with
the structure of the fishery system itself, has been adopted by the
Department of Natural Resources.

* Likely exhaustion of present cultch supplies from the Bay in three to
five years has raised concerns about future stock abundance.

.9 A state position has been adopted that oysters are species resident
to Maryland in response to the Seacoast decision.

A strong and cohesive group of watermen's associations from a Bay-wide
perspective presently exists, somewhat overcoming political changes
resulting from reapportionment of the Maryland Legislature. However,
shoreside processors, formerly representing the entire industry, have
been less successful since the watermen organized. Currently shoreside
organizational activity I., increasing.

Significant trends include:
e Expressed fears that court rulings concerning Seacoast will force
Maryland to adopt a position in favor of leaseholds.

* The Fisheries Administration today views fisheries management as an
art as well as a science. Management focuses on resources rather than
people. However, present management actir>ns preserve the traditional
way of life for Bay fishery communities.

Following this narrative description of the Maryland Bay commercial
fisheries is a section describing the economic relationships among the many

units involved in crab, oyster, clam, and finfish activities in the state.

This is of particular importance as it sets a framework for methods of further

analytical work in the Bay. The subtle and complex interactions which occur
among the many factors in fisheries economics are emphasized, indicating the
difficulty in obtaining valid data to describe this industry.

-9-

A final chapter briefly describes the fisheries in Ocean City, followed

by a bibliography and list of industry/government personnel interviewed.

Implications for Management

Future management actions concerning Maryland's commercial fisheries

must be designed in light of the total system, linking habitat, resource and

watermen as described in this report. Maryland's fishery system is based

upon the efforts of individual watermen and their immediate families. These

form the basis of the many fishing communities around the shores of the

Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

The Bay estuarine system connects these communities economically. Each

community has links with outside suppliers and customers in state, regional,

and national markets. The commercial fishery ha5 developed through a series

of necessary adjustments to the Bay's environmental and biological realities.

These realities structure the "rules" within which the fishery operates.

Commercial fisheries practiced on the Bay must be resilient, flexible,

adaptive, and creative to maintain economic equilibrium in the midst of

natural and market uncertainties. The commercial fisheries provide a living

for thousands of families in isolated rural communities. The fisheries

economic system is complex and delicately balanced, representing an extremely

flexible, responsive, "Shadow economy" characterized by the strength needed

to respond to resource fluctuations in the Bay.

Transactions and business dealings are informal and immediate, conducted

among individuals who, if not related, have dealt with each other for many

years, Business intelligence, and efforts to maintain economic balance,

The following material represents the views and opinions of the field
investigators who conducted interviews and authored this report.

_10-

.require instant communication, immediate decision and confidence in the good

faith of others. Formal written records, accordin g to conventional

business practice, are rare.

Great efforts must be made daily by all individuals to "move the product

as it is perishable and working capital is expensive and scarce. External

influences on markets and prices steadily decreases.

This rural, family-oriented, geographically-dependent, self-sufficient

fishery system requires management based upon an understanding of the follow-

ing factors:

e Although natural fluxes in fishery stocks historically predominate,
the threat of a natural depression occuring in phase with a pollution-
induced productivity decline represents the greatest threat to the
stability of the Bay's fishery.

* The foundation of Bay communities and the fishery system of which they
are a part is the Bay itself.

9 The Bay-wide estuarine system has replaced county political boundaries
with respect to where fisheries are practiced and management policies
followed. The Fisheries Administration choice of a habitat-wide manage-
ment approach respects this fact. The Seacoast decision may ultimately
require joint Maryland-Virginia Bay management.

s Community integrity and social structure provide the strength and rela-
tive stability of the present way of life with regard to resource
harvest. Any changes imposed on this system based upon management
and economic theory involving conventional definitions of "time," "money,11
and "value " will result in 'dislocation, displacement, and fundamental
change. Bay residents are extremely sensitive to this issue. They
feel they should be allowed to continue their current life if they so
choose.

9 Threats facing the Bay fisheries include:(I) water quality decline from
actions taken elsewhere in the Bay watershed, (2) possible loss of
control over fishery activities within the Maryland portion of the Bay
as a result of recent Court decisions (these may allow residents of
other states to take Maryland oysters, thus cancelling Maryland's
incentive to continue the seeding program and driving the state to a
leasehold-posture), and (3) management emphasizing analytical
determination of "efficiency" regarding license availability, gear tech-
nology, and traditional ways of doing business.

* If mechanized processing is introduced in conjunction with aggressive
and coordinated marketing programs, careful attention must be paid to
the need to coordinate such efforts with resource supplies.

* The issue facing watermen in a "shadow economy," including many non-
cash exchanges which hide important economic values, is achieving net
income.

* Any changes involving the imposition or replacement of fishing methods
or technology must be undertaken with great care as they may bring
about unexpected and destructive changes to the existing delicate
balance between resource and industry.

0 Of greatest significance is Maryland's heavy dependence upon the com-
mercial Bay fishery system defined and characterized here. The indus-
try is a critical economic factor to Maryland, providing revenue,
employment and increasing tourist income. More importantly, this
fishery is fundamental to maintenance of the existing, workable and
healthy social balance so necessary to the quality of life for State
residents.

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REPORT BASIS AND METHOD

A. APPROACH

The findings presented in this study are the result of intensive field-

work undertaken on the Eastern and Western shores of Maryland. In addition,

a thorough literature review was conducted, as well as many interviews with

state, federal, university, extension, and industry association individuals

with interests in every aspect of Chesapeake Bay, its ecology and use.

In the course of the fieldwork task over 3000 miles were travelled.

Over 50 dealers, processors, and watermen were formally interviewed at their

places of business or while engaged in shoreside fishery activities in their

communities. Many additional, yet important dockside conversations took

place with unidentified watermen whose contributions to this study were sig-

nificant.

The volume of information acquired in a necessarily short period of time

was substantial, yet underlying quantitative data (in some instances spon-

taneously offered), was not pursued intensively. As the first definition and

characterization stage of a long-term fisheries program, it was felt inappro-

priate, and perhaps prejudicial, to focus too intensively on this area.

The information presented is based directly on the literature review

and fieldwork mentioned although not in every case specifically referenced.

Both the narrative sections and tabular presentations, then, represent as

comprehensive a description and characterization of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay

commercial fisheries as possiblegiven budget limitations.

-13-

B. REFERENCES EXPLANATION

This study, "Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fisheries," is a

direct outcome of activities initiated under the provisions of the Coastal

Zone Management Act of 1972 (PL 92-583) as amended in 1976 (PL 94-370).

Congressional findings state (Section 303[h]):

The key to more effective protection and use of the land and
water resources of the coastal zone is to encourage the states to
exercise their full authority over the lands and waters in the
coastal zone by assisting the states, in cooperation with federal
and local governments and other vitally affected interests, in
developing land-and water use programs for the coastal zone, includ-
ing unified policies, criteria, standards, methods, and processes
for dealing with land- and water-iuse decisions of more than local
significance.

Further definition of the intent of Congress with respect to the water

resources of the coastal zone are contained in the Coastal Zone Management

Act of 1972 Conference Report, "Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee

of Conference" (Section 304):

Therefore, what the Conferees agreed upon was basically a water-
related coastal zone program administered by the Secretary of
Commerce with required full coordination with and concurrence of
the Secretary of Interior.' This compromise recognizes the need
for making coastal zone management fully compatible with national
land-use policy, while making use of the special technical compe-
tence of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in
the Department of Commerce in managing the nation's coastal areas.

Maryland's Coastal Zone Management Program's*Goals and Objectives are

also relevant to the study approach and program.

GOAL 1: Preserve and Protect Coastal Resources

To protect, maintain, and improve the quality of the State's tidal
waters for propagation of wildlife, fish and aquatic life, and for
human use and enjoyment.

-14-

To protect coastal aquatic areas of significant resource value and
where possible, restore presently degraded areas of potentially
significant resource value, such as viable oyster bars and clam beds,
important fish migratory pathways, spawning, nursery and feeding areas,
and wintering and resting areas for migratory birds.

To prote ct, maintain, and where feasible, restore the integrity of
the tidal wetlands of the State.

To protect coastal terrestrial areas of significant resource value--
areas having scenic, scientific, geological,hydrdlogic, biological
or ecosystem maintenance importance--such as nontidal wetlands,
endangered species habitat, significant wildlife habitat, and winter-
ing and resting areas of migratory birds.

GOAL 4: To Promote Appropriate Methods of Use of Coastal Areas in Order
to Prevent Deterioration of Coastal Resources

To promote use of State's coastal resources to meet social and
economic needs in an environmentally compatible manner.

GOAL 5: To Promote Intergovernmental Coordination and Public. Participation
in Coastal Zone Management Program Development and implementation.

To undertake Studies and inventories, where needed, to provide the
most complete and accurate information base possible for all levels
of government and the public to use in management decisions and
activities affecting coastal resources.

To ensure coordination and use of existing s tate and local government
programs to achieve the CZMP's objectives.

To provide full opportunity for participation by relevant federal,
state, and local government agencies, concerned organizations and the
general.public, in development and implementation of the Coastal Zone
Management Program.

Finally, the criteria and standards established under the Office of

Coastal Zone Management Coastal Fisheries Assistance Program directly lead
from the Act to the objectives, tasks and method inherent in this project.

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MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY COMMERCIAL FISHERIES:
DEFINITION AND CHARACTERIZATION

A. THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ENVIRONMENT

1. The Bay - Geographic Basis*

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and one

of the largest in the world. Practically an inland sea, the shallow water

depths and extensive intermixing of salt water with fresh water runoff assure

an extensive nutrient flow associated with high productivity.

The Bay, located within the states of Maryland and Virginia, is nearly

200 mi-les-long and from 4 to 30 miles wide. The "upper" Bay, within, . .

Maryland, extends from the Susquehanna River in the north down to the Virginia

border, a line drawn from the mouth of the Potomac River (Smith Point) across

Smith Island to the Eastern Shore and thence east across Chincoteague Bay to

the Atlantic beaches of Assateague Island. Water depths in the Bay average

slightly over 20 feet, with deepest portions Iying in the submerged channel

of the Susquehanna River at the Bay's center. Great expanses, especially on

the Bay's Eastern Shore, are less than 10 feet deep. ,

The Bay's watershed drains an area of about 64,000 square miles. Much

of this area has been settled and famed for centuries, characterized by

good soil, extensive mixed hardwood forests, and abundant rainfall. The

*Sources include conversations with federal, state.Potomac River Commission
industry,and watermen representatives. Literature sources supporting field-
work include: Reference 5: Beautiful Swimmers; Reference 7: Chesapeake
Bay Future Conditions; Reference 8: Chesapeake Bay in Maryland; Reference 9:
Chesapeake Research Consortium Progress Reports; Reference 25: Guide for
Cruising Maryland Waters; Reference 34: Maryland Coastal Zone Program;
Reference 42: Patuxent Watershed Report; Reference 51: Susquehanna Basin.

-16-

Susquehanna River is by far the largest watershed in the Bay, with an area

of 27,510 square miles, or 43 percent of the total drainage into the Bay.

The Potomac River, entering the Bay on the middle Western Shore, with a

watershed area of nearly 15,000 square miles, drains 23 percent of the Bay

system. Further south, still to the westward and in Virginia, are the
Rappahannock River (less than 5 percent of the Bay system), the York River
(less than 5 percent of the Bay system), and the James River (16 percent of

the Bay system).

On the Western Shore a great metropolitan complex has developed along

the Baltimore-Washington axis, with associated port facilities, industrial

activity and urban waste. The Eastern Shore remains largely rural, isolated

and undeveloped, although the Bay Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Tunnel,and related

road improvements have greatly increased traffic and development in the

region during the past two decades. Eastern Shore uplands remain primarily

devoted to farming activities. Large areas of wetland and crop residues in

the fall and spring provide shelter and food for millions of migratory

waterfowl, and the Bay is well known as a major waterfowl wintering area.

The salinity of Bay waters varies considerably. At the mouth of the

Bay, off Norfolk, freshwater dilution is rarely observed.whereas the head
of the Bay fs predominately fresh due to the large Susquehanna outflow. , I
On a general basis, the Western side of the Bay, closest to the major rivers

draining the coastal uplands, is characterized by a net inflow of fresh

water. The Eastern side of the Bay experiences a greater salt water intru-

sion. However, because salt water is denser than fresh water, net inflow

of salt water occurs along the bottom throughout the Bay. Of greatest im-.

portance with regard to the living marine resources of the Bay, all of which

-17-

are affected by salinity, are the relative proportions of salt

water and freshwater. These proportions change with seasonal weather pat-
terns, winds, tides (to some extent), and rainfall (primarily). Each of

these factors affects the degree of intermixing and associated salinity.

As salinity changes, somay concentrations of organisms - aquatic plants,

commercial species,and predators. On a very general basis the middle por-

tion of the Bay (between the Bay Bridge and the Potomac River) experiences

the steadiest year-by-year conditions of seasonal salinity, for the Susque-

hanna outfall lies far upstream and the Eastern Shore Watersheds are com-

posed of small, gently flowing rivers. Further south the Nanticoke and

Wicomico Rivers drain into Tangier Sound, far to the east of the Western

Shore river discharges. These two areas have had the most stable and great-

est long-term production of commercial shellfish over time in Maryland waters.

Changes in salinity through intermixing are seasonal. During winter

months the Bay is more saline because freezing conditions along most Bay

watershed rivers "lock up" fresh water in snowfall and ice. In addition,

fresh water within the Bay freezes before salt water. Much of the Upper Bay

has been known to freeze over during hard winters.

In spring river discharge into the Bay is greatest due to melting snow

and increased rainfall. During this period salinity is much reduced, es-

pecially at the head of the Bay and along the Western Shore. Also during

the spring, erosion and soil runoff into the Bay is most severe and great

volumes of sediment enter the Bay system.

With the coming of summer the waters warm and biological activity in-

creases. As the watersheds are drained of spring runoff, fresh water intru-

sion into the Bay steadily drops. By the end of August salinity has again

risen as salt water intrusion continues, aided by prevailing southwesterly

winds. Saline water flows far up the gently sloping estuaries all around

the Bay. In autumn, greater rainfall produces increased freshwater discharge

once again, although not'in the volumes experienced during the spring.

Chesapeake Bay lo cation on the hurricane storm track has also been im-

portant, most recently felt in 1972 when tropical storm Agnes flooded the

Bay with an enormous quantity of rain. The sudden addition of great volumes

of runoff rapidly lowered Bay salinities, causing widespread mortality in

fish and shellfish populations.

These general seasonal fluctuations provide the cycles and changes

driving the entire Bay ecosystem, and all Bay organisms must adjust to these

cycles in order to survive. Large changes in year-to-year environmental

conditions are sometimes reflec ted in large changes within Bay marine popula-

tions, changes with natural rather than man@-made-causes.

The traditional use of rivers and the Bay as a "sink" for pollutants

of all kinds throughout the history of the Chesapeake region demonstrates

the remarkable strength and resiliency of this estuary.

19-

2. The Bay - Concentrations of Commercial Stocks*

Commercial species sought by Bay watermen include oysters, blue crabs,
soft-shell clams, eels, and several species of finfish (among them striped
bass, bluefish, menhaden, and perch). Of these species the shellfish are
subjected to steady or increasing fishing pressure; commercial finfishing
has declined substantially for a variety of reasons.

Oysters

Oysters were once found throughout Chesapeake Bay. Overharvest in the
late 1880s, several outbreaks of disease, siltation at the head of the Bay
during the past century, and removal of oyster shells from Bay waters for
various purposes have much reduced the area now inhabited by oysters. Oyster
concentrations result from specific habitat conditions. The oyster is a
shellfish with rather complicated biology. While a very young organism,

the oyster drifts in.the water column for a period of time while growing and

developing from larval form. Eventually, the oyster must find a suitable surface

upon which to attach itself. The best surface found in nature (cultch) are

the shells of other oysters. An oyster, once "set," cannot move. The oyster

Sources include conversations with State officials, industry and watermen
representatives. Literature sources supporting fieldwork include:
Reference 3: Aquatic Resource Areas; Reference 5: Beautiful Swimmers;
Reference 6: Oyster Propagation in Maryland; Reference 20: Maryland Oyster
Resource Expansion Task Force, Final Report; Reference 21: Fishery Resources
of the Patuxent River System; Reference 22: Follow the Water; Reference 23:
Groundfish Resource Assessment; Reference 37: Predicting Stock Requirements
for Oyster Producing Areas; Reference 41: The Oystermen of the Chesapeake;
Reference 43: Plans for Management of Fisheries, Tidal Potomac; Reference 44:
Potomac Estuary Biological Resources; Reference 49: Striped Bass in Maryland
Tidewaters; Reference 50: Survey of Commercial Finfishing Areas; Refer-
ence 60: Natural Oyster Bars.

-20-

feeds by passing Bay water through its system. Oysters may live as

long as twenty years. When environmenta 1 conditions are favorable during
the period June - October and water temperatures reach 20 OC, the oyster

spawns. Fertilization occurs in the water. The period oysters drift lasts

about a month. During this time the developing "spat" is. moving as the

water moves. The "set" oyster grows fairly fast and is ready for commer-

cial harvest when three years old.

Oysters can survive within quite varied salinities (from 7 to 35 ppt),

reflecting Bay ranges during the year, but areas of too little salt content

can be fatal5while areas of regularly high salt content permit various
predators (drills, starfish) to successfully deplete oyster populations.

Also important is the oysters' vulnerability to siltation. An animal

feeding by filtration requires water with low suspended solids.. Si-l t

and sediment may suffocate oysters unless the current is strong. Other

rivers of large-volume emptying into the Bay do not contain the same propor-

tion of oyster beds as do the areas close to the mouth of rivers found on

the Eastern Shore, possibly in direct proportion to the sediment carried

steadily downstream and certainly in proportion to salinity reductions at

certain times.of the year.

Oysters prefer specific water depths and are found in water fifteen

to twenty-five feet deep. Many areas in the Bay covered by fifteen to

twenty-five feet of water and free of silt once supported oyster bars.

Greatest concentrations today are in water slightly less saline than the

waters supporting predatory organisms.

-21-

Certain spots consistently receive "spatfalls" of greater quantity

than other areas (the State of Maryland has designated some of these areas
as "seed" areas for the State propagation program - Section III-E), while other

areas, not known for good spatfalls, produce better mature oysters because

of more favorable growing conditions. There are many formerly productive

bars now "played out" and others occasionally receiving a good "set."

While in a broad sense "good" areas remain "good" from year to year, there

are significant changes in oyster abundance from bar to bar. Finding the

good spots - "following the oysters" - is the skill of the successful waterman.

At one time, the major oyster concentrations were located near Crisfield

in Tangier Sound, but the advent of MSX in the southern Bay destroyed most

beds. While siltation north of Rock Hall and MSX south of the Potomac

River reduced oyster populations elsewhere in the Bay, those bars between

Rock Hall and the Potomac River have remained productive. Today the most

abundant concentrations of oysters are located within Talbot County and

Dorchester County, that portion of the Bay characterized by steady salt-

water intrusion, relatively small fluctuations of fresh water inflow (save

seasonal changes and the occasional hurricane), and distance from major

urban concentrations.

The oyster bars were last charted before the First World War (over

900 were charted). Like other shellfish beds (the sea scallop, for example),

each bar produces oysters characterized by particular colors, shapes and

sizes. The general oyster population throughout the Bay, while one stock,

is composed of various bars inhabited by sub-populations characterized by

local food supply and environmental conditions. At present, the major con-

-22-

centrations of oyster bars are found in the middle Bay along the Eastern

Shore as well as off the Potomac River. Both areas are subject to extensive

seeding programs. In recent years, concentrations of oysters have been much

affected by human activities, generally restoring bars in traditionally

productive areas. Presently charted are 326,000 acres of oyster bars in

Maryland and 1,217 acres of seed-producing areas.

Soft-Shell Clams

Soft-shell clams, another shellfish species of commercial importance,

were first harvested intensively during the early 1950s to meet market

demands in New England as New England soft-shell clams in tidal areas be-

came exhausted as a result of overfishing and disease.

Soft-shell clams are found throughout the Bay in waters between 10

and 20 feet with a salinity range of 5-20 ppt. Soft-shell clams occupy

.sandy or sandy-mud bottoms, unlike the harder bottoms preferred by oysters.

Slightly lower salinity requirements, a preference for shallower areas, and

a need for soft.bottoin cause clam beds to be further up tributaries than

oyster bars and most frequently shoreward of oyster bars.

Spawning occurs twice a year: early May to mid-June and from late

August to early December.

The habitat occupied by soft-shell clams often overlaps with oyster
habitats, and clams are found beneath oyster cultch on many occasions and

frequently directly adjacent to oyster bars.

Soft-shell clams are vulnerable to high water temperatures and

extremely low salinities, as are oysters. However, the shallower depths
preferred by clams more frequently experience higher temperatures during

-23-

the summer, with associated mortalities. The shallower depths of clam bed

locations near the mouths of tributaries are also extremely sensitive to

large fresh water discharges. For these reasons, Hurricane Agnes was

especially destructive to soft-shell clams in 1972.

Commercial stocks of soft-shell clams, like oysters, are today primarily

found in the middle Bay area, with highest concentrations in Talbot,

Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties.

Blue Crabs

Blue crabs move over rather extensive areas of the Bay during their

life cycle. From June to October, near the mouth of the Bay in saline

water (27 ppt), young crab larvae are hatched. These larvae progress

through several stages as the summer passes, drifting with the tidal

currents and moulting six times in five weeks before seeking bottom as

a recognizable crab. During this period the larvae require,water salinities

of about 20-25 ppt and water temperatures ranging from 68 to 85*F.

When mobile on the bottom, immature crabs move north up the Bay into

the brackish (17 ppt) waters of estuaries and tributaries, moulting

several times. With cooler autumn weather the crab buries itself in the

mud and hibernates throughout the winter.

Hibernation ceases during spring and by-the second summer of

life the crab has moulted about fifteen times and is an adult, seeking

waters as low as 10 ppt., Mating occurs during the second fall of life

when the female is soft from her fi nal moult. The fertilized female

thenmigratessouth to more saline waters (17 ppt), hibernates for the

winter, and during her thtrd spring moves south again to the lower,

-24-

bays (25 ppt) where she spawns. Most females die before the fourth

summer.

Male blue crabs do not migrate but rather remain in the deeper

channels of the upper bays and estuaries, moving steadily deeper with the

onset of cold weather. The male crab often mates again during his fourth

summer before death.

Commercial concentrations of blue crabs in the Bay, therefore, are

widespread. Many large crabs today are taken from the Tangier Sound area

in northern Virginia Bay waters. A winter fishery for hibernating females

(the "scrape" fishery) is practiced in Virginia waters at the lower end of

the Bay.

However, commercial crab concentrations are found in most Bay tribu-

taries, with greatest abundances found alon.g the Eastern Shore, most

notably in Eastern Bay (where large males are found.). The mobility of the

adult crab allows this species to adjust to changing conditions of salinity.

With low rainfall, more saline waters move further up the Bay as do

associated crab concentrations; after heavy rains crab populations are

found in deeper, southern Bay waters. As with oysters and clams, year-to-

year crab concentrations are found in those areas of the Bay experiencing

reasonably stable cycles of salinity: in 14aryland waters, that portion

south of Rock Hall, with heaviest concentrations observed in the relatively

enclosed Eastern Bay and Upper Tangier Sound.

Finfish

The major species of finfish sought by Bay watermen include striped

bass, alewives, menhaden, fluke, white perch, and eels. Striped bass are

-25-

anadromous, spawning at the heads of Bay tributaries in waters less than

1.5 ppt. Eels are catadramous, spawning in the ocean but seeking shallow

estuarine waters for growth to adulthood. Other species of value are

anadramous or estuarine, taken largely when concentrating in the less

saline headwaters of the Bay.

Such species often scatter when they migrate to the ocean but concen-

trate in the upper estuaries for their spawning and developmental stages.

The shallow, nutrient-laden marsh waters provide food and shelter from

predators.
Extensive loss.es of upper tributary rooted aquatic plants have recently

occurred with unknown, but possible severe effects upon fish populations.

In addition, the reliance of these species upon fresh water rivers for

spawning activity has made eggs and larvae particularly vulnerable to

pollutants, reducing recruitment. For these and other reasons the commercial

finfisheries have declined greatly in importance. Whereas much of the Bay

shoreline once had extensive netting activities (drift nets, gill nets,

pound nets, stake nets, and use of beach purse seines), today most commer-

cial finfishing exists in two areas: along the shores of the Potomac

River and along the reaches of the head of the Bay, although other rivers
(Nantocike, Chester) also support fishing activities. In these areas nets

are set to capture finfish species when they concentrate and school and

move upstream to spawn (or when they gather to begin their migration to the

open sea).

Some striped bass are known to remain in the upper Bay year-round and

the fisheries reflect that fact.

-26-

Eels are taken in many of the estuaries in shallow water during the

spring and are found throughout the Bay.

Commercial concentrations of oysters, soft-shell clams, blue crab and

finfish vary considerably as the habitat varies. Generally, greatest

concentrations of immobile shellfish are found where the Bay experiences

relative stability from severe and sudden changes in salinity - those
portions of the Bay characterized by distance.f ro'm the Susquehanna River,

drainage of smaller rivers into extensive wetlands with a high storage

capacity (thereby serving as a "buffer" to sudden salinity changes) and

a steady salt water intrusion from the south. Oyster concentrations today

depend greatly upon Maryland propagation programs.

Crabs are mobile and throughout their life may trav el considerably,

especially the females. Greatest commercial blue crab concentrations are

found in Eastern Bay (for large males) although the sources for most Maryland

blue crabs today are the waters of Virginia (Tangier Sound),and imports from

other states.

For commercial purposes, finfish concentrations are mainly in the head

of the Bay north of Rock Hall, along the Potomac River, and in the upper

waters of many tributaries,

-27-

3. The__R@y_- Watershed Relationship

Most of the watershed area draining into the Bay lies west and north

of the Western chore. Most freshwater inflow results from the Susquehanna

River entering the head of the Bay. The Chesapeake-Delaware Canal, part

of the Inland Waterway, also enters the head of the Bay, slightly increasing

the low salinities found there. However, north of the Potomac River the

major influx of fresh water results from the Susquehanna, draining a

watershed of 27,510 square miles.

Between the head of the Bay and the Potomac River, over one hundred

miles further south, are many small river systems. Collectively, these watersheds

account for a minor portion of Bay drainage. North of the Potomac River

on the Western Shore are the Patuxent, West, Rhode, South, Severn, Magothy,

Patapsco, Back, Middle, Gunpowder, and Bush Rivers. The Patuxent River

is the largest watershed; all others drain small areas. Western Shore

terrain rises fairly rapidly; consequently, these watersheds have signifi-

cant gravity flow. In addition, the marshland areas at the mouths of

these rivers are significantly smaller than across the Bay on the flatter

Eastern Shore.

*Sources include conversations with State officials, industry and watermen
representatives. Literature sources supporting fieldwork include:
Reference 7: Chesapeake Bay Future Conditions; Reference 8: Chesapeake
Bay in Maryland; Reference 9: Chesapeake Research Consortium Progress
Report; Reference 12, 13, 14, 15, 16: County Plans (all); Reference 31:
Effects of Turbidity and Siltation on Aquatic Life; Reference 34: Maryland
Coastal Zone Program; Reference 36: Applying Research to Environmental
PLanning and Management; Reference 42: Patuxent Watershed Report;
Reference 43: Plans for Management of Fisheries, Tidal Potomac; Reference
45: Potomac River Basin Directory; Reference 51: Susquehanna Basin;
Reference 55: Water Quality Goals for Ches,ipeake Bay; Referencp 57:
Water Quality Management Program.

-28-

Watersheds on the Eastern Shore above Kent Island Narrows include

the Northeast, Elk, Bohemia, Sassafras, Worton, and Chester Rivers. The

Chester drainage is greatest in area.

North of the Bay Bridge, then, the major watershed entering the Bay

system is the Susquehanna. Salt water inflow is restricted by Kent Island

Narrows to some extent, and Bay salinities north of Kent Island tend to

be significantly lower than further south. The upper Bay today supports

a greater proportion of finfish than shellfish, being suited for anadramous

spawning activity in the many square miles of virtually fresh water.

The Potomac River watershed, entering the Bay at the northern Virginia

border, is the second largest within the Bay system. Like the head of the

Bay, the Potomac sees extensive anadramousfish activity, although both the

Potomac and Susquehanna have suffered under pollution from human activities.

The large size of the Potomac, like the Susquehanna., assures greater

fresh water inflow from these systems than the smaller watersheds else-

where in Maryland. Both the Potomac and the Susquehanna have relatively

deep channels and steep banks.

The general passage of Western Shore outflow south along the western
banksuggestsone reason most commerdal concentrations .today exist along

the Eastern Shore, for the rapid outfall from western rivers and associ-

ated pollutants partially prevents intermixing associated with the tidal

inflow to the eastward.

Watersheds draining the Eastern Shore occupy flat, marshy terrain.

None of the river systems is large in comparison with flows from the west-

ward. While extensive agriculture is practiced on the Eastern Shore as

-29-

well as poultry farming (with associated nonpoint agricultural discharges

and pollutants from chicken wastes), heavy industry and major urban con-

centrations are relatively absent.

The Chester River drains into a large bay bounded by Rock Hall to

the north. From the Chester River to the south all watersheds drain into

large shallow bays surrounded by extensive wetlands. Draining into Eastern

Bay (located west of Kent Island) are the Wye and Miles Rivers. These are

small watersheds entering a nearly enclosed Bay and possibley a significant

basis for Eastern Bay's consistently high production of shellfish and crabs.

South of Tilghman Island are the Tred Avon, Choptank, and Little

Choptank Rivers, likewise entering protected waters with associated high

produc ti vi ty.

South of Little Choptank the Bay again narrows just north of Solomon's

Island. The area from Kent Island to Solomon's receives no major fresh-

water discharges from the Western Shore, and watersheds on the Eastern

Shore are usually characterized by gentle gradients, large wetlands, and

excellent storage capacity in the event of nonhurricane rainfall. All

these factors contribute to the relative stable salinity of this portion

of the Bay.

The lower Maryland Eastern Shore drains several watersheds: the

Nanticoke, Wicomico, Manokin, Big Annemessex, Little Annemessex, and

Pocomoke Rivers. All these rivers discharge into Tangier Sound, somewhat

isolated from the Patuxent and Potomac outfalls across the Bay by distance
and the Bloodsworth-Smith Island chain. As with the Choptank drainage
system, great expanses of the mainland are marsh and wetlands, providing

-30-

great storage capacity for fresh water and serving as a buffer from sudden

changes in salinity.

Viewed from thi s perspective, the relationship of the Bay fisheries

to watershed systems indicates the importance of those watersheds draining

flat terrain, containing broad expanses of marsh, isolated from the major

river discharges along the Western Shore, and entering waters experiencing

steady tidal intrusion from the south.

-31-

4. The Bay: Water Quality Summary*

To summarize water quality factors indicated previously:

* Conflicting evidence exists concerning eutrophication. Observers
interviewed, who had lifetime residence along the Bay, pointed to
its "increasing cloudiness." Certain reports indicate increasing
amounts of chlorophyll but not as high as in 1970.

* Observers indicated Potomac River pollution and its impact upon
.finfish (rock) and shellfish was creeping downstream. It is also
clear that the Patuxent River has been seriously degraded as a
result of pollution.

9 Little evidence has accumulated concerning the impact of toxic
or ha-zardous wastes upon the Bay. The influence on marine life is
apparently unknown. Evidence accumulating elsewhere, however, indi-
cates a whole series of chemicals are possibly becoming the greatest
water quality hazards now enter ing the Bay.

These conditions result from the Bay's location on the fringe of one of

the largest and wealthiest metropolitan areas in the United States, as

well as one of the highest growth areas in the United States. Land develop-

ment along the Western Shore presents the greatest danger to the Bay from

organic wastes, toxic and hazardous wastes, and sedimentation. The amount

and rate of land development on the Western Shore is certain to continue

to mushroom in the coming years as the Washington area continues to expand.

Sources include conversations with State officials, industry and watermen
representatives. Literature sources supporting fieldwork include:
Reference 7: Chesapeake Bay Future Conditions; Reference 8- Chesapeake
Bay in Maryland; Reference 9: Chesapeake Research Consortium Progress
Reports; References 12, 13, 14, 15, 16: County-Plans (all); Reference 31:
Effects of Turbidity and Siltation on Aquatic-Life; Reference 34: Maryland
Coastal Zone Program; Reference 36: Applying Research to Environmental
Planning and Management; Reference 42: Patuxent Watershed Report;
Reference 43: Plans for Management of Fisheries, Tidal Potomac; Refer-
ence 45: Potomac River Basin Directory; Reference 51: Susquehanna Basin;
Reference 55: Water Quality Goals for.Chesapeake Bay; Reference 57: Water
Quality Management Program.

-32-

Pollution has diffe@ent connotations on the Eastern Shore. Here,

except for suburban development on and near Kent Island, and resort develop-

ment in Ocean City, housing and commercial development has scarcely touched

the land. Its use is largely agricultural, producing corn, soy bean, and

chicken products. Unstudied and apparently unknown are impacts from

nonpoint sources along the Bay or the impact of the large amount of chicken

feces produced by the poultry industry.

Land development, primarily for housing, along the Eastern Shore, is

limited by distance from major employment centers. The kind of pattern

occurring in Kent Island will slowly move down the Bay and, as it does,

impacts upon water quality similar to those resulting from development upon

the Western Shore will occur. In addition, the Eastern Shore may represent

an iniportant potential powerplant site.

Discussionswith representatives of several organizations indicate

that, from their viewpoint, the impact of pollution upon fish and

shellfish is not given high priority in Section 208 planning activity in

terms of preventing the pollution. This is most true in areas of toxic

and hazardous wastes as well as nonpoint sources. The passing of new

legislation to prevent pollution from chemical wastes will clearly improve
the former condition but effective control of nonpoint source pollution

has not yet evolved.

-33-

B. COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK*

The geography of the Bay--the long necks, the islands, the extensive

marshes--and the separation of the Eastern Shore from the Western Shore

until construction of the Bay Bridge underlies the entire basis

of the commercial fisheries system examined here. Communtties serving
the Bay fisheries have developed goegraphically to use those Bay habitat

characteristics detailed previously: water quality, shallow depths,

suitability for small boats, and seasonal cycles. Locations of fishing

grounds and relative access to those grounds form the basis for all

fisheries-related economic activity, particularly in the many remote loca-

tions where most fishing communities are found.

Communities dependent upon Bay fish and shellfish resources remain

small and relatively distinct from the increasing development pressures of

suburban spread (now crossing the Bay Bridge and observed on and near Kent

Island) and growth of recreational boating and associated marinas. Even

along the Western Shore south of Galesville are fOOd-small settlements
located on necks or small rivers seemingly unchanged in the past half-

century. The Eastern Shore, while containing the larger municipalities of

Easton, Cambridge, Pocomoke City and Salisbury, remains truly rural.

*Sources include conversations with watermen representatives, community
leaders and staff observation. Literature sources supporting fieldwork
include: Reference 5: Beautiful Swininers; Reference 10: Commercial
Fisheries News; Reference 22: Follow the Water;' Reference 38: Mobility
of Oystermen; Reference 41: The Oystermen of the Chesapeake; Reference 54;
The Waterman's Gazette.

-34-

Bay fishing communities are characterized by tight-knit, extended

kinship interactions, Many.waterman's operations and shoreside

supporting systems are based upon-these relationships. Within a

single community are found brothers who are watermen, other brothers (or
uncles and cousins) serving as buyers and processors, in-laws. operating
neighborhood garages and groceries, and other relatives building boats.

These family enterprises have evolved over long periods of time; we fre-

quently spoke with watermen or dealers whose families had pursued the Bay

fisheries for as many as five generations.

Rather than adopting the recent American phenomenon of mobility in

.search of a career, those living on the Bay are fundamentally territorial.

Their work has evolved with a deep appreciation and love for the environment

in which they have been raised. They remain on the Bay by choice in nearly

all cases.

Those dependent upon Bay fisheries hold their land within family

groups. When there is property turnover, land or businesses are most often

sold to relatives or other community families.

The harvest system used by watermen has developed on a low-capital,

low overhead basis, reflecting Bay cycles and the need to function with a

minimum investment so as to survive periods of low abundance. As detailed

elsewhere, until 1971 watermen could only fish within their country of

residence. They were thus vulnerable to county-by-county biological

variation; while Bay production as a whole held fairly steady, enormous

differences among counties were common.

-35-

Bay fishing communities have developed complete local support systems

for their watermen. Each community saw development of local mechanic

services, local boatbuilders (there are six located near Wingate alone),

local buyers, processors, and product transporters. Further reflecting a

need for self- sufficiency, watermen themselves (with their families) carry

out much shoreside support work on their own, adapting machinery from auto

and farm equipment, performing their own boat maintenance, making up their

own gear, and often selling and moving their own product.

A later section (Shoreside Sale, Handling, Processing, and Distribution)

details the development of several product handling centers, where large

wholesalers are located, but.the bulk of the product flow system is tied

directly to the many outports with trucks, local buyers an d shippers, and

dealers from individual communities often shipping directly to distant

markets in the middle and far west, for instance.

Bay fishing communities generally function on a local basis, but

product flows and watermen mobility create interdependency and overlap

in many complicated ways. Although each community is distinctive, together

they form a Bay-wide system. A generally low-technology system capable of

being constructed and maintained within each individual community has

evolved. Close personal relationships result in services exchanged on a noncash
basis: trucks are borrowed, people help other people out (e.g., for hauling
a boat or building a home), and barter exchange of products occurs frequently.

Most families in fishing communities own their land outright, and

have done so for generations. Mortgage payments are thus lower than in

newer developments. Noncash services and barter exchanges for materials

-36-

and labor further reduce the cash requirements for day-to-day living.

Traditional economic measures of income often have little to do with a

quality of life developed according to tradition, family relationships, and

nonmonetary values. Those earning a living from the Bay are confident

they can reach reasonable solutions to most problems through compromise.

Their survival, depending as it does on a history of natural fluxes,

requires compromise and flexibility for success.

A fundamental and often overlooked aspect of small-scale inshore fish-

eri es i s that each dol 1 ar recei ved for the product i s wi dely di spersed throughout

the community. The inherent dynamic nature of seasonal fisheries and noncash

exchanges within close kinship systems finds many people supported on rela-
tively small amounts of cash. 14hile in conventional terms their income may
be inadequate, people in these fishing communities often expressed satis-

faction with their way of life as it is.

Fishing communities around the Bay are composed of both white and

black settlements. Although most businesses are owned by whites, large

numbers of black watermen work on the Bay and many other blacks work in

processing plants ashore. Because blacks are not fully integrated into

the economy and have lower income, capital accumulation is difficult, upward

mobility is limited, and many young blacks today leave the are a. However,

the influences of the Bay geographic system and associated way of life causes

the values and attitudes held by blacks and whites to often be similar,

particularly for watermen.
Several community trends have importance to Bay fisheries. A con-

tinuing problem of labor supply for shoreside processing results from

-37-

many blacks leaving the area. Most Bay product leaves the state in raw

form, losing the opportunity for economic multipliers associated with

processing activities.

A steady growth of recreational boating has caused land values to rise

and marinas to spread in all directions from the Bay Bridge. Communities
have responded by providing tourist-relaied services. Recreational

boating activities have reduced isolation and independence from urban

attitudes and found many fish and shellfish buyers responding to fisheries

resource supply uncertainties by broadening their business base.

A most significant trend is seen in the great development pressures

from the westward. As roads are improved and suburban services expand,

related construction of commuter housing will continue to move south from

Kent Island. Rising land values and inflation may result in similar

activities as have occurred elsewhere (e.g. Vermont farmers have

been forced to sell land to cover taxes for increased municipal services).

However, this trend may be tempered by the strong feeling of Bay fishing

community residents to keep their areas as they now are.

Reapportionment of the Maryland legislature has seen rural control of

the Statehouse shifted to a more urban orientation. The previously strong

voice of the remote Maryland communities, which has had great effects upon

state legislation concerning watermen (e.g., a state position favoring public

rather than private shellfish bottoms) and thus on community structure,

has weakened. We often heard concerns raised on this point.
As detailed in the following section (Harvesting Sector).',

attitudes and views of the watermen themselves are optimistic, reflecting

-38-

deep-seated community attitudes. Today many young watermen are engaged in

the fishery. Given the development and changes seen so often in other

rural areas of the country, the Bay community trend to maintain life as it

is today may be the most important trend noted anywhere in this report.

-39-

C. HARVESTING SECTOR*

1. Introduction

While each fishery on the Bay is characterized by different harvest

methods according to the characteristics of the species sought and various

conservation regulations, those who make a living from the water generally

do not consider themselves "oystermen" or "crabbers" but rather speak in

terms of being a "waterman." Although severe conflicts do exist, particu-
larly between oystering and clamming (detaile d below), the manner of making

a living on the Bay from a privately-owned, small, shoal-draft boat, often

alone and rarely with more crew than one sternman, is similar in all Bay

fisheries (although the 28-30 remaining skipjacks carry larger crews). Like

other coastal small-boat fisheries (e.g. the Maine lobster fishery) people

choosing a livelihood guided by the natural forces of seasonal weather in

search of organisms known for variable abundance deeply enjoy the personal

satisfaction arising from "finding the fish." The occupation, although a

life of uncertainty, economic risk, vulnerability to natural changes, and

lack of control over price at the dock, provides personal freedom, working

conditions out-of-doors, and close contact with the rhythms of the Bay. In

an area offering little other work, the Bay fisheries provide full-time

Sources include conversations with industry and watermen representatives,
and staff observations. Literature sources supporting fieldwork include:
Reference 5: Beautiful Swimmers; Reference 22: Follow the Water;
Reference 26: How to Catch a Crab; Reference 30: Laws Concerning the
Commercial Harvesting of Shellfish; Reference 29: Laws Concerning the
Commercial Harvesting of Finfish; Reference 33: Sport Fishing Survey;
Reference 39: The Maryland Oyster; Reference 40: The Maryland Soft Clam;
Reference 41: The Oystermen of the Chesapeake; Reference 47: Recreational
Boating, Maryland; Reference 50: Survey of Commercial Finfishing Areas.

-40-

employment (i.e., all personal income derived from fishing activities) for

over 9,000 watermen. Those liking the life and choosing to work on the Bay

may be following a family tradition, but as the work requires hard physical

labor outside under frequently severe conditions, the major reason is finally

one of personal choice

. Having seen abundances rise and fall, a waterman often mentions cycles.

His skill is making the best of those cycles. On land he is most often part

of a community that first arose because there were protected anchorages close

to Bay commercial stocks. The Eastern Shore especially was geographically

remote and unsuited for major urban concentrations, providing little compe-

tition for labor. Some people left; the watermen stayed. During the

late 1950s and early 1960s, virtual depression struck Bay fisheries as

clams became scarce and oysters suffered from poor abundance. Subsequently,

a Maryland oyster seeding program and some stabilization of clam yields

enabled the industry to adjust. Literature from a decade ago often mentions

the high average age of the watermen and the "dying" way of life. However,

,today many young men operate boats with their fathers or boats of their own.

Harvest methods (detailed below) are, in one sense, "inefficient," yet such

methods provide a living for more watermen than there are fishermen in all

New England. Watermen do not speak of their gear as "antiquated," but

rather as "in balance." They do not feel they must "overcome" the Bay but

rather are a part of the Bay, in "synch" with the Bay. Like most small-

boat fishermen, they work on the water because they choose to. The uncer-

tainty of the work itself results in deep respect for the large Bay habitat

of which they are a part. Lacking control over natural events, when a

-41-

waterman's task is accomplished,his pride in his skill also recognizes the

influence of luck. The need to respond to unforeseen changes in species

abundance require great personal flexibility and willingness to change gear

types and fisheries as conditions demand. The many "part-timers" along the

shore, single-species fishermen,or those unable to afford a larger boat, may

only work on the water four months a year. However, those four months may

be most important to the individual; he works ashore only to provide himself

the ability (income, residency, etc.) to fish when he can.

While many watermen in the Bay solely fish for clams or oysters, more

often a waterman will change fisheries several times over the years as well

as within the year. His livelihood is what the Bay provides; if he is

unwilling to change as the Bay changes, he is not a waterman for long.

-42-

2. Species Sought

The species taken from the Bay by watermen are oysters (by far the

most important Bay fishery), blue crabs, soft-shell clams, and finfish.

. Watermen we interviewed all spoke of the Bay as presently in a

"down cycle," particularly concerning soft-shell clams. Yet there was also

a feeling shellfishing was holding its own; while on a down cycle today,

abundances would rise in the future. Harvest limits on oysters (25 bushels

per man per day using tongs of any kind, 150 bushels per day for skiff-

pushed skipjacks twice a week, and 150 bushels when dredging under sail) and

clams (15 bushels per boat per day) conserve the resource yet allow adequate

income when the price is right. In addition, the state seeding program

partially replenishes oyster bars during the spring. These resource conser-

vation measures combined with shell size limits (three inches for the oyster,

five and a half inches for hard crabs, three and one half inches for soft

crabs and three inches for peelers) have aided in stabilizing the industry

from the wild fluctuations observed decades ago.

These factors and the seasonal characteristics of the fisheries (follow-

ing section) cause most commercial fishing for oysters to occur in the fall
and winter with strong efforts for crabs during the summer. Many soft-shell

clammers work year-round. An eel fishery is conducted during the spring for

crab trotline and pot bait. Recently several foreign markets, notably Japan,

have expressed interest in Bay eels. Striped bass are by far the most

important finfish, taken with various nets at the head of the Bay or along

the Potomac River and Eastern Shore. Other fish species sought include alewives,

menhaden, fluke, and white perch. An oc3casional sturgeon is taken as well.

-43-

3. Seasonal Characteristics

The seasonal characteristics of the Bay fisheries closely follow the
natural fluctuations of the stocks themselves throughout the year.*

The oyster fishery is practiced from September 15 to March 31. The

oyster season, regulated by law, permits oyster harvest following spawning

activity during that period of the year when oyster meats fatten and gain in

taste. Skipjacks are permitted to begin oystering November 1.

Greatest demand for oysters in the shell and in fresh form is during the

period from Thanksgiving to Christmas. At the end of this period winter

has arrived, and time may be lost because of weather: Ice on the Bay,

strong cold northwesterlies forming ice on those boats out in the Bay, or

severe snow storms may hinder fishing.

Fishing pressure for oysters picks up in Februarybut a general opinion

among oystermen holds a man must "make out" before Christmas or he will have

a poor season.

The oyster fishery, then, is the Bay's.winter fishery and its most

valuable fishery, with highest landings during the period from September to

December.

See Section A-2: "The Bay: Concentrations of Commercial Stocks" for the
biological seasonal patterns upon which the major commercial fisheries depend.

-44-

Oyster harvests forthe period 1965-1976 were as follows:*

Year Amount/Bushels

1965 1,340,177
1966 1,645,144
1967 3,014,670
1968 3,000,272
1969 2,509,791
1970 2,533,275
1971 2,395,528
1972 2,900,547
1973 2,925,236
1974 2,845,924
1975 2,511,424
1976 2,369,017

The soft clam fishery occurs throughout the year with heaviest landings

during the late winter, spring, and summer. The gear required for clam

harvest (following section) does not readily allow quick conversion to

another fishery although many clammers switch to oystering in the fall.

Soft-shell clam harvests (fiscal year) for the period 1965-1975 were

as follows:

Year Amount/Bushels

1965 509,393
1966 296,252
1967 278,462
1968 107,563
1969 438,875
1970 610,098
1971 476,501
1972 424,561
1973(Agnes) 15,845
1974 112,960
1975 173,978

Source: Maryland Fisheries Administration.

-45-

A retview of catch summaries for the representative year 1975, by month,
demonstrates seasonal variations in the harvest of oysters and clams:*

Month Oysters/Bushels Clams/Pounds Soft Shell Meats
January 318,325 128,016
February 284,262 112,788
March 261,461 116,832
April 19,989 182,472
May 7,966 165,528
June 4,908 161,460
July 3,819 203,844
August 3,435 119,718
September 230,798 41,712
October 403,595 30,912
November 462,169 14,472
December 440,266 8,280

The blue-crab fishery, like the oyster fishery, is strictly seasonal,

primarily a summer fishery. Crabs are first caught in Maryland

waters when winter hibernation ends and the crabs start moving. Crabs
are not taken in great quantities until June and are then found until Septem-

ber, when the males move to deeper water and females travel south.

During the spring the crab harvest includes crabs preparing to moult
(indicated by signs of color on the shell) for the soft-crab market. These

crabs are placed in trays ashore in flowing water or in floating qages until

they have shed their shell. They are then sold as soft crabs.

Source: Maryland Fisheries Administration.

-46-

Crab production in pounds for the period 1965-1976 was as follows*:

Year Hard Crabs (Pounds) Soft & Peeler Crabs (Pounds)

1965 31,998,000 2,694,000
1966 30,373,000 1,884,000
1967 24,587,000 2,186,000
1968 9,216,000 11001,000
1969 23,014,000 2,250,000
1970 24,935,000 1,579,000
1971 26,077,799 1,531,083
1972 23,471,700 1,568,800
1973 19,218,000 1,505,000
1974 23,000,000 1,806,000
1975 24,263,961 1,653,928
1976 19,412,860 1,472,651

Crab landings, by month,for the representative year 1975, were

as follows*:

Month Hard Crabs (Pounds) Soft & Peeler Crabs (Poundsl

January -----
February ----- -----
March ----- -----
April 868,264 -----
May 1,280,397 527,936
June 3,244,220 478,634
July 6,132,548 336,313
August 5,084,958 244,365
September 3,567,057 63,664
October 3,532,250 3,017
November, 449,875 -----
.December 104,392 -----

Finfish landings for Maryland waters have declined considerably in the

past several years. While several million pounds of such species as shad

and herring were once taken, summary landings for all species for the years

1974 and 1975 were as follows*:

Year Total Landings in Pounds

1974 14,234,300
1975 15,009,006

Sourte: Maryland Fisheries Administration.

-47-

Of finfish landings, those taken in quantities greater than one-

half million pounds were: alewives (1,388,200 - 1974; 720,363 - 1975);

bluefish (558,600 - 1974; 276,728 --1975); fluke (708,800 - 1974;

892,702 - 1975); menhaden (5,523,100 - 1974; 6,106,556 - 1975); striped

bass (3,502,500 - 1974; 2,896,820 - 1975); and white perch (510,700

1974; 527,118 - 1975)@ Over half the landed value of all fish species

came from striped bass landings.

The bulk of fish landings occurred during the period March-October,

with April and May the heaviest months.

Total ex-vessel value of Bay fish and shellfish landings has generally

been in the range of twenty-three million dollars per year; one-half

of which has resulted from the oyster fishery. Landed values, by species,

for the years 1974 and 1975 were*:

Species 1974 Percent Total 1975 Percent Total

Oyster $12,707,575 56.8 $11,667,379 50.9
Hard crab $ 4,054,299 18.0 $ 4,275,798 18.7
Soft clam $ 1,779,004 7.9 $ 1,174,340 5.1
Soft crab $ 1,030,390 4.6 $ 868,516 3.8
Striped bass $ 919,136 4.1 $ 1,146,631 5.0
Other $ 1,888,740 8.4 $ 3,676,562 16.5

TOTAL $22,379,144 $22,900,226

Source: Maryland Fisheries Administration.

-48-

4. Harvest Methods and Gear Types

The required flexibility on the part of the water man to make best use

of his boat is first characterized by the seasonal characteristics of the

species mentioned above.

Seasonality and Movements

Clammers tend to operate in the same fishery from January to August,

although some clam vessels also double as charter vessels for sportfishermen

during the spring/summer if the owner is willing to remove his clam escalator.

Clam landings drop significantly during the first four months of the oyster

season (September to December) when many clammers enter the oyster fishery.

Finfishermen, most active during the spring, often convert to crabbing

summers and go oystering winters if crab and oyster concentrations are found

not far from those upstream areas where they set their nets. They will drive

the stakes for their staked gillnets or pound nets in early spring to be

prepared for the spring run. On the other hand, those finfisheries at the

head of the Bay are far from the shellfish grounds to the south. The long

run south for oystering and crabbing prevents daily trips. While a few boats

are "trip" boats (i.e., move away to fish another area during the week,
returning home weekends),, most of the remaining "head-of-the-Bay" finfishermen

run gillnets, drift-nets, or fyke nets the year round.

Most watermen, however, follow crabs during the summer and seek oysters

during the winter. However, successful oystermen often fish commercially

only during the winters, either running charter parties summers, taking a

shore job, or otherwise occupied during the crab season.

-49-

Many crab watermen first take eels during the spring. In addition,

some of the finfishermen harvest eels for sale as bait to crabbers.

Skipjack operators, in the Deal and Tilghman Island areas, sail skip-

jacks winters but have boats of their own for spring eeling and summer

crabbing. Skipjacks are the only boats on the Bay making trips lasting

longer than one day.

Regulations limit oyster and clam harvesting to daylight hours.

The boats make day trips, returning to shore each afternoon/evening, selling

their catch, and returning to the Bay the following day.

Watermen activities were also traditionally restricted to resources in

their county of residence. Natural factors caused abundances on the bars

and clam beds to alter widely from year to year within the same county.

The watermen, unable to move around the Bay, were thus forced to be as

flexible as possible for alternative species. On occasion severe economic

stress resulted--the MSX disease south of Crisfield wiped out county oyster

beds and quickly plunged Crisfield, once a major oyster port, into decline.

Watermen from the county either had to move elsewhere to establish resi-

dency or scrape by on crabs and clams with hopes of the oysters' return.

Strong county line demarcation, furthermore, influenced development of craft

designed for specific circumstances--short runs to the grounds, small carry-

ing capacity (enough to haul the daily take), and varying lines according

to general water conditions. Most important, given the uncertainty of

future conditions, was a Bay-wide need to work on the Bay for as little

capital as possible, resulting in ingeneous and highly effective automobile

engine conversions, inexpensive boats maintained to last, and consistent

efforts to keep costs as low as possible.

-50-

The Bruce decision in 1971 radically altered Bay harvesting methods.

With regard to watermen's movements, Bruce made county residency requirements

for the taking of shellfish invalid. Suddenly, Maryland watermen were free

to travel throughout the Bay depending upon personal interest and stock

abundance. While hand-tong oyster techniques, practiced from quite small open

boats, remained close to home, vessels with hydraulic patent tongs or clam

escalators, as well as crab vessels, began to move around the Bay after

their species of choice. Boats were built of somewhat larger size. At the

same time many boats were outfitted with CB radio, providing instant infor-

mation concerning activities far from local waters.

The effects of these developments caused establishment of a significant

"trip" fishery. Many oyster patent tongers began travelling the area from

Rock Hall to Solomon's, working distant beds during the week, unloading in

any one of a large number of communities to trucks sent by a prearranged

buyer or to local buyers, and returning home weekends. Presently about

400'patent tongers and 230 clam escalators fish the Bay, and many move from

county to county. Greatest clam effort remains concentrated in the desig-

nated clamming areas in Talbot, Dorchester, and Queen Anne's Counties. Patent

tongers may move from the Bay Bridge to the Potomac River.

A major effect from travelling watermen has been more consistent

effort on those bars and beds fished by "trip boats." Abundant finds are

quickly reduced, but freedom to leave the area prevents excessive effort

on a badly depleted stock. Instead of great county-by-county fluctuations,

as seen earlier, fluctuations from fishing pressure within Maryland waters

are now Bay-wide.

-51-

Travelling is facilitated because the original county system made neces-
sary the establishment of dozens of commercial communities rather than'a

few centrally-located communities. While the Bay has few public landings

for recreational use, there i.s always a place close by for the waterman to

meet a truck and conveyor.

Harvest methods depend ultimately on the operator's ability to learn

the bottom--the locations of beds, bars, the water depths, likely places for

finding crabs, and areas where finfish are found. Only recently were

electronic sounding devices allowed, which indicate fish concentrations as

well as bott om contours. Although this equipment can shorten a new operator's

learning time considerably, his skill ultimately develops through time on

the water.

The Boats

The boats used by watermen are distinctive designs evolved to provide

stable platforms in the Bay waters (which, being shallow, quickly rise to

a short chop with a breeze), speed to provide range, and very shoal draft.

Most Bay boats, ranging in size from 20-foot open skiffs to 50-foot patent

tongers, are so-called "deadrise" designs: cross-planked from the keel to

the chine, rising from the keel forward but nearly flat aft, straight-

bottomed and narrow. Such hulls are easily driver and produce little wake.

The flat bottom rolls less than a rounded bottom. Forward on the larger

craft is a cabin for shelter and protection while underway. The aft area

is open with the engine located close to the stern and covered by a box.

These boats are usually powered by converted automobile engines, keel-

cooled, with dry exhaust ris ing from a pipe set astern of the engine. The

-52-

boats are steered from the cabin and from a stick-tiller rig beside the

engine. The open work area does not cover a fishhold; oysters, crabs, and

clams are carried in boxes or baskets. Some boats have flat roofs stretch-

ing aft for shade from the sun.

It is said one familiar with these Bay boats can tell where a boat is

built by the lines and design details. On a general basis, the Bay boats

have higher bows toward the south, where the more exposed Bay waters produce

larger seas.

Skipjacks are sloop rigged with similar hi_,,il lines as the

smaller craft (hard-chine cross planked bottom). Skipjacks working today

number about 28-30 and indicate through their age how important attention

and maintenance have been. Skipjacks carry skiffs with power for maneuvera-

bility in calm, close quarters, and twice a week for pushing a dredge. Buy

boats, of which only seven to ten still may be operating, though hundreds

once roamed the Bay, are burdensome craft about 60 feet long with a house

aft. These craft do not fish but buy oysters on the Bay from other boats.

Buy boats have been largely replaced due to the widespread use today of

trucks with portable conveyors for unloading at any landing.

Gear Types - Oysters

The gear and harvest techniques used on the. Bay are strongly influ-

enced by conservation regulations, designed to protect the resource while

allowing fair return.

Skipjacks tow large dredges under wind power. These dredges are

essentially metal bags with rings towed over an oyster bar The dredge.

scoops oysters into the following bag. When the skipper feels the dredge

-53-

is full, or has passed beyond the bar, a winch hauls the dredge aboard

where the oysters are dumped on deck, culled according to size regulations
(three inches pinch to mouth), and stowed. Under sail, skipjacks can land
150 bushels of oysters for a day's work. On two days a week the powered

skiff is allowed to push the skipjack hauling the dredge. On these days

150 bushels are the limit. Skipjacks remain on the bars for a number of

days (usually four or less) and either sell to a buy boat or return to port

to unload. Most skipjacks today operate from Tilghman and Deal Islands,

working the northern Bay until Christmas, and then move south to Tangier

Sound.

Many watermen share a view the oyster dredge "cultivates the bottom,"

i.e., as it passes through the oysters, -ome are taken and others are shifted

and moved to fall back onto the bed for further growth. This view is exactly

the same as that of New England sea scallop fishermen, who often remark

scalloping is like "cultivating a field," and is 3 major element behind

Virginia's dredge-oriented gear regulations.

A second type of oyster gear is the patent tona. A patent tong is a

hydraulically operated metal basket operating on the same principle as a
backhoe. The patent tong consists of two metal "jaws" composed of

metal bars no more than forty-one inches wide. The rig is suspended from

a long metal boom which in turn is mounted on a mast just aft of the

wheelhouse. A series of ropes, pulleys, and counterweights allows the

patent tong to be dropped into the water alongside the hull about amidships.

When striking bottom, hydraulic foot pedals are used to close the jaws

and haul the patent tong back aboard. The jaws are opened over a culling

-54-

table, the oysters and other debris dropped, and while the operator

(standing just aft of the table) culls the yield, the patent tong is

again dropped. Many of the larger boats (over forty feet) are double rigs;

i.e., work two patent tongs at the same time, one to port, one to starboard

with one man behind each table.

An efficient rig can make three passes every minute. During the period

the tongs are operating, the boat is drifting with winds and currents over

the bar. Special skill is needed to achieve proper drift so the tongs strike

new bottom each time without skipping large sections. Depending on wind and

tide, various weights and anchors are cast off the stern to control drift

speed.

Patent tongers are limited to twenty-five bushels per man per day.

Hand tonging, the oldest method of oyster harvest, requires strength

and balance. Hand tongs are long wooden poles arranged so an operator

can, through a hinge mechanism a few feet from the lower end, open and close

a small basket on oysters lying on the bottom. Different water depths

require different length tongs, most of which are from between fifteen

and thirty feet long.

Hand tonging is practiced as follows: when the watermen believes he is

over good bottom he anchors his boat, either from bow or stern according to

his preference. He stands on the wide washboard around the gunwale, "working"

along the bottom as he moves around the washboard. When a circuit is complete

he will move the boat a short distance and anchor once more.

Hand.tongers are numerous on the Bay and, like patent tongers, are limited

to twenty-five bushels per man per day. Most hand tongers are.single-handed;

i.e., operate alone.

-55-

Because patent tonging has developed relatively recently, concerns

were raised by hand tongers that patent tonging was destructive to

oyster beds. Fears are often expressed the patent tong digs a hole which

then fills with silt, smothering oysters. This possible biological problem

caused the Maryland Fisheries Administration to limit certain specific bars

for patent tonging, particularly given the mobility potential

arising from the Bruce decision. Facing restricted bottom and operating

more capital-intensive operations than the hand tongers, more patent tongers

than hand tongers have become "travellers."

Blue crabs are taken on trotlines, in pots, and with a scraping dredge.

The dredge is towed behind a boat and scoops buried crabs from the mud.

Dredges are used mostly in the lower Bay in Virginia, primarily a-winter

fishery for hibernating females. However, some dredging occurs in Maryland

waters for males hibernating in the deeper water.

The trotline fishery requires bait. Long lines are set from a boat,

buoyed at each end. From the lines are many short gangions or leaders,

each of which has a piece of bait tied to the end. The bait is usually

salted eel from the spring eel fishery. The lines are baited and coiled

in a small basket, "shot" from the boat as the boat moves ahead, and allowed

soaked for a time to allow the bait to fish. Crabs will move to the baits

and seize the salted pieces with their claws. The line is then picked up

and taken back aboard. The boat moves toward the other end and as the line

comes aboard, hauled by hand or using a small winch. A net is used to take

the crabs as they come to the boat. Once free of the water, the crabs let

go of the bait; they are taken just before they break the surface. The line

-56-

is recoiled and crabs are placed in bushel baskets. Salted bait can be

used repeatedly.

A trotliner will set several strings of gear for the day's fishing.

One or two men work on the boat. A waterman alone must steer the boat

and scoop the crabs, allowing the line to fall into a tub from the winch.

With two-handed trotliners, one man steers while the other scoops crabs

or coils.* There are no limits established for crab harvest and a good

day will see up to 1500 pounds landed.

Trotliners work the entire Bay although crabs in deep water late in

the season do not come to the'surface as readily as do crabs from shallow

depths. The resistance from being pulled upward cause many to lose hold

of the bait and drop back to bottom. Many hand-tong boats work as trot-

liners during the summer. Like hand tongs, tro.tliners are inexpensive gear
and'easily placed aboard.

Many hand tongers and most patent tongers seek crabs during the summer
with pots. Crab pots are round or rectangular wire cages withinterior wire

or mesh funnels. Pots are baited with eel or other fish, placed in the water,

and retrieved the following day. Crabs caught in the pots are removed, the

bait replaced, and the pot placed in the water again. The choice of

areas for the placement of crab pots is very important.

A waterman will fish up to four hundred pots. Over three hundred can

be hauled in one day. Pots are buoyed; if placed singly, a buoy floats

above each pot. Often several'pots are strung together in a line, with a

buoy at one or both ends.

*The maximum length of gear allowed a non-licensed trotliner is 100 yards;.
greater lengths require a commercial license.

-57-

Crab pots may not be used in the mouths of the rivers, which are

restricted to trotliners. Pots are used extensively in the deeper portions

of the Bay. Crab pots can "follow" the hard males as they move deeper with

the coming of autumn. Crabs about to shed may be left in a pot until they

have lost their hard shell, or they may be brought ashore.

Like lobster fishermen, watermen using crab pots use specially marked

buoys to identify their gear among the buoys of other potters fishing the

same ground. Good crab pot fishing lands as many or more crabs in a day

as the top trotliners.

The pots themselves are often homemade durirg the spring after the

oyster season. Often other members of the family make pots during the

winter. Each pot requires less than five dollars in materials for fabri-

cation. While single pots are inexpensive, a waterman running a full string

of gear leaves a substantial investment on the bottom every day he is fishing.
Lost buoys are common and lost strings of gear are sought with a grapnel dragged

across the area where the pots were placed. Losses of pots are common after

a storm has moved buoys or torn them free. A serious problem has been and

remains theft of pots by recreational boaters.

Winches are often used to haul crab pots, especially in the

deeper water. The winch may be powered by an auxiliary gasoline engine

(also used to power the hydraulics needed for patent tonging) located on

deck. Many patent tongers run crab pots during the summer as a result.

Changing gear is not difficult--the patent tongs are removed, a winch

gurdy is placed aboard, and pot fishing can start at once.

Although crab potters are found throughout the Bay,.the greatest effort

is toward the south in Tangier Sound. Crisfield, to the southeast, is a

-58-

major crab center; most crabs landed in Crisfield are taken in the Virginia

waters of Tangier Sound.

There are presently slightly over two hundred soft-clammers working

the Maryland portion of the Bay. Most of these boats are based just south

of Annapolis or near Kent Island Narrows in Grasonville. Clam boats

travel. Their present concentration indicates the center.of commercial

clam abundance on the Bay.

Clam boats work a hydraulic escalator conveyor-type system. Hanging

from one side of the boat are conveyors with foot-wide belts, twenty

or twenty-five feet long. The belts are hydraulically operated. As with

patent tongers, an auxiliary engine mounted on the opposite side of the

deck provides power.

During clamming operations the belt is dropped into the water. One

end reaches bottom and the other remains at the gunwalei As the boat

inches ahead, a special system flushes water vigorously just ahead of the

leading edge of the-belt. The water flow washes aside mud and the belt

immediately behind carries the clams found in its track to the surface.

Clammers are limited to fifteen bushels per day per boat. They are

further limited to several designated clamming areas. Because clams are

often found close by oyster barsi major conflicts have arisen between clam

operators and oyster watermen. Many feel the clam dredge stirs up bottom

sediments which will suffocate oysters.

Since the Bay was charted in 1913, some designated oyster bars, long

barren, have been redesign ated as clamming areas. Most of these designated

clamming areas are located near Kent Island and in Eastern Bay..

_59-

Hurricane Agnes had severe effects upon soft-shell clams, yet those

knowing the resource feel clams were diminishing prior to Agnes for

other reasons.

Nearly all clams taken from the Bay are consumed in New England.

The cumbersome and expensive clam dredge requires a significant invest-

ment. Most clam boats seek clams year-round save for conversions to oyster-

ing in the fall.

Commercial finfishing, currently a small element within the Bay

fisheries, is most often practiced using gill nets, drift nets, fyke nets,

and pound nets. Pound nets and "staked" gill nets require use of stakes

driven into the bottom upon which these nets are hung. Years ago there were

such "trap" nets all along the Bay shore, but today the costs for stakes,

labor and the nets themselves are excessive given the likely return. Pound

nets remain along the Potomac, but have nearly disappeared from the northern Bay.

Pound nets essentially "herd" fish into a pound from which they cannot escape.

The fish are brailed from the enclosure into the loat. Lately fyke nets--a

funnel-type arrangement--have replaced many pound nets.

Gill nets--either staked, anchored, or drifting--are nets forming walls

in the water column. A fish can enter the mesh of the net but becomes

gilled,.cannot escape, and suffocates (fish must continue moving water past
their gills to receive oxygen). Gill nets are limited by law with respect

to the distance, or length, one operator can fish.

Some gill-net fishermen set their nets out one day and haul them the

next. On the.other hand, drift-net fishermen (their gill nets float and

move as the water moves), usually remain with their gear while it "fishes."

-60-

Maryland prohibits use of monofilament (single-strand synthetic twine)

nets in the Bay. Manila or cotton will, if lost, rot; polypropelene or nylon,

if lost, may keep fishing until the action of trapped fish and weather roll

the lost stretches of net into a clump. To haul the larger drift nets,

a special gillnet hauler, used in many gillnet fisheries on the east and

west coast, is often powered by a separat e engine rather than a power take-

off from the propulsion engine.

Commercial finfishermen often also operate charter services for

sportsmen.

Recently, efforts to take fish with traps (i.e., submerged pots of wire

or twine and frame with mesh funnels inside to guide and trap fish) have

proven somewhat successful.

The eel'fishery is practiced with eel pots, cylindrical wire cages

placed in the estuaries. Possible emerging markets overseas have ;stimul ated a

potentially large eel fishery to spring up in many East Coast estuaries. If

such markets were firm, a much larger eel effort might be seen than the
minor bait fishery of today. Expanded effort was.observed in the Potomac

River and-aquaculture eel development is an increasing trend.

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5. Current Trends in the Harvesting Sector

Harvesting sector trends are observed with respect to biological

fluxes, the attitudes of watermen, technological developments, gear con

flicts, and the impact of recent legal decisions. Market influences and

regulatory actions (following Sections) also impact upon harvesting

activities. The trends mentioned here refer specifically to harvest

methods.

Biological Fluxes

Biological fluxes, recognized,but as yet po3rly understood, form the

basis of all harvest activities and decisions. Oysters, heavily regulated

by the Fisheries Administration, have stabilized in yields since introduction

of the statewide seeding program in the early 1960s although market influences

have also had important impacts. State propogation programs--detailed in

Section E: Institutional Framework--may be responsible for a third of the

oysters currently taken from the Bay, although opinions as to effectiveness

differ greatly. There is a general consensus, however, that seeding programs

avoid dramatic down-surges in oyster abundance during years of poor spatfall.

Watermen we interviewed stated a belief the Bay is currently on a "down cycle"

and has been for the past two or three years.

The clam fishery has experienced dramatically reduced landings since

1972, although in areas of designated clam harvest landings have held rather

steady since 1973. There is a general view in the industry, however, clam

populations were on a down-turn when Agnes struck in 1972; the effects of

Agnes have disguised in some measure this natural drop in abundance.

The blue crab fishery (1br which there are n3 landing restrictions con-

trasted with other shellfish) is currently a stable fishery, although increasing

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numbers of crabs are imported into Maryland from other areas as Maryland

has experienced a loss of large male hard crabs for market sale. While

Eastern Bay still produces large male crabs, many of the large males now

processed by Maryland firms are.taken in the Virginia waters of Tangier

Sound.

In general, although shellfish yields are reduced from the banner

landings of decades past, today's harvest levels are holding their own as

constrained by market restrictions as well as abundance.

Finfish trends have been steadily downward. Abundances are much reduced.

Increasing competition with sportsmen and reduced water quality at the head

of the Bay and the upper tributaries have placed commercial finfisheries in a

steady decline. Costs for gear and materials have steadily risen, further

forcing watermen from finfisheries.

As detailed previously, there is a general view the Bay system is not

as productive as it once was, expressed most frequently in reference to the

increasing turbidity of Bay waters. However, few of the watermen we inter-

viewed held the Bay was "dying."

Attitudes

Much of the literature concerning watermen concludes the "way of life"

is doomed, referencing a high average age, loss of the younger men to other

areas, and increasing development pressures along the Eastern Shore with

associated loss of watermen-related services. Today, however, there is a

trend toward increasing numbers of watermen, with many young men choosing to

follow the water rather than seeking employment ashore. The general attitude
within the industry is one of pride and self-reliance despite uncertainties

and risks.

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A young person can work on the water for very little capital. All he

requires is a small boat, hand tongs, a trotline, and possibly some crab

pots. We observed many father-son combinations and nearly as many men in

their twenties operating vessels as within older, age groups. Those familiar

with the industry all stated full-time watermen number between eight and nine

thousand. While the larger patent-tong and clam boats represent significant

investments of capital (a new hull today with power costs between $20,000

and $40,000; the gear costs an additional several thousand dollars) most of

those making a living from the Bay work smaller boats, often constructed in

their backyard or carefully preserved over the years. As with any fishery,

those new to the business start small and work up with time. Many watermen

first spend a couple of years working as a sternman for another skipper.

Successful watermen are capable of earning a good living. Within the
complicated management structure and harvest limits for oysters an'd clams,

presently in effect nevertheless incomes often exceed $20,000 a year,

although the average income for watermen as a whole is considerably less than

$20,000.

Generally, returns are sufficient to make a decent living in the view of

those interviewed. and current optimistic attitudes reflect that fact.

Dollar income is in any case a poor measure of standard of living, for water-

men often engage in barter relationships where cash does not change hands.

In addition, other family members (wives, children) are also actively involved

in related aspects of the business--building crab pots, overhauling trotlines,

baiting trotlines, helping outfit the boat when hauled out of the water--not

involving cash exchange. Home picking of crabs produces unreported cash income

as well.

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Gear Technology

Trends in technological aspects of the Bay fisheries indicate few

changes in gear. Gear types are regulated such that the gear is "inefficient"

and thus compatible with the status of the resources sought. Even the patent

tong, the most recently developed harvest method, has been used unchanged on

the Bay quite some time.

Most of the boats used on the Bay are locally built. Many small boat-

builders are located along the shore and the status of the industry is well

demonstrated by their backlog for new orders. Reflecting the greater

mobility of boats since the Bruce decision, the-boats tend to be somewhat

larger than years ago, with higher bows, diesel power, and often engine

power take-offs rather than auxiliary gas engines.

Electronic fish finders were allowed to be placed aboard recently and

many boats have now installed them, as depth readings are very helpful at

night in twisting shoal channels.

Several boats have invested in radar, a most expensive piece of machinery

and *not widely adopted by the Bay fleet. Radar can be extremely helpful when

running in fog or plotting position against the shore, for the range markers

on the scope allow for pinpoint distance estimation and excellent-crossbearings.

Although most of the new boats being constructed for watermen remain

wood, lumber is increasingly hard to find and fiberglass is now used. Fiber-

glass boats are cheaper initially than wooden boats and less expensive to

maintain.

Recently, watermen have purchased New England lobster-style designs

from up north, most often made of fiberglass, in the 30- to 40-foot range.

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These boats are round-bottomed and tend to roll in the Bay chop, but their

seaworthiness is excellent and they have greater displacement than deadrise

craft.

A most significant technological trend has been the widespread adoption

of CB radio. CB sets have a range of about 30 miles under good conditions

and are used extensively for boat-to-boat communication, boat-to-buyer com-

munication, and emergency transmissions when necessary. Of greatest signifi-

cance, the CB radio allows the watermen to determine the price received for

catch all along the Bay shore, with consequent effects upon cash received at

the dock (e.g. if a buyer to the south offers more than a buyer close

by the boat in question, the waterman can either sell to the higher offerer

or negotiate with his nearby buyer for the higher price).

Gear Conflicts

Gear conflicts, mentioned briefly previously, always exist when different

fishing techniques are used in the same area. Bottom areas have been desig-

nated for clamming, patent tonging, or crab potting in efforts to reduce

these conflicts, but problems continue. The Fisheries Administration marks

these areas with buoys, but watermen complain the buoys are so far apart they

are difficult to see. A waterman can believe he is fishing within a line

between two buoys but finds himself arrested because an aerial observation

has found him inside the restricted area, From the air the line between two

buoys is easily determined, but sea-level observations, especially in a chop,

are difficult.

An important gear-conflict trend, although not a new trend, concerns

the part-time fishermen. Part-timers tend to operate during periods of

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resource abundance, thereby "skimming" the good catches from the full-time

watermen. In addition, part-timers are often unfamiliar with traditional

gear location practices, and gear snarls are common. The crab fishery

experiences most of these problems. Effects from part-time fishing on the

full-time waterman are twofold. The full-timer has fewer days to take

abundance peaks. Those times of poor stock abundance are extended, leaving
the fu.11-timer with s.mallercash reserves than would be the case without part-

time activities.

Legal Decisions

Recent legal decisions have profoundly influenced harvest activities.

The 1971 Bruce decision invalidating county residency requirementsfor the

taking of fish within county jurisdictional boundaries has allowed watermen

to "travel" considerably throughout the Bay, especially patent tongers and

clammers. One contributing reason for the numerous and widely scattered

locationsof fishing communities throughout the Bay was the original county

residence requirement. There was no need for a boat capable of extended

cruising and overnight trips. The entire harvesting infrastructure arose

in response to the need for a boat just big enough to travel within its home

county. The closer one lived to the resource, the less expensive and smaller

the necessary boat.

A waterman limited to working within a single county could not overcapi-

talize his effort and survive county-by-county fluctuations in resource abun-

dance, While the entire Bay may have produced relatively stable yields,

individual counties had resource fluctuations, forcing great flexibility on

the part of the watermen. As detailed in the following section (Sale and
Product Distribution), each of the many fishing communities (many located at

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the end of long necks and a long drive from other fishing areas) developed

a complete service sector to provide resident watermen's needs: builders,

mechanics, chandleries, and buyers, all of a size compatible with the scale

of the fishing operations themselves. Rather than a central supply source

serving outports (e.g. in New England all southern Massachusetts ports use

New Bedford as a central supply depot), as may have happened had there not

been the county closure to nonresidents, the Bay commerical fisheries saw

development of a highly differentiated system of essentially self-sufficient

fishing communities along the entire shore. Although factors from Bay

geography may have had 'More influence, county jurisdictional power prior to

Bruce had a fundamental impact upon the structure of the commercial fisheries

today.

However, Bruce discarded county residency requirements in 1971 and

immediately the larger Bay boats began to travel. The Bruce decision created

a truly Bay-wide fishery, allowed resource abundance peaks within one county

to be taken by boats from many other counties, and initially resulted in

severe gear conflicts between patent tongers and hand tongers, and all tongers

with clammers. The Fisheries Administration designated certain bottoms for

clamming; on occasion (because clams are found close by oyster bars), desig-

nating barren 1913 survey oyster bars as clam areas. This trend continues;

while oyster bottom is designated as clam bottom (a sensitive political

procedure is needed), clam bottom has never been redesignated for use by

oystermen. In addition, the Fisheries Administration has restricted patent

In the case where one community became a central depot--Crisfield when oysters
were abundant.in Tangier Sound--the effects of the loss of county oysters on
the large shoreside development remain visible today; smaller communities
had greater flexibility to adjust.

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tongers to certain bars in response to hand tongers' concerns the patent

tongs are destructive to oysters.

Today, the major travelling boats are those facing restricteddesignated

bottom areas and these are generally larger boats, fishing away from

home for days at a time. An increased capital investment for such boats has

resulted, as fishing competition is now Bay-wide, requiring

more sophisticated gear and machinery to make the most of the increased

opportunities.

Presently great concern exists with respect to the Supreme Court decision.

Douglas vs. Seacoast Products, Inc. (1977). The Seacoast decision held state

residency requirements for the taking of fish (in this case menhaden in

Virginia) within state waters to be invalid. While Seacoast is clear with

respect to free-swimming fish, uncertainty about the status of oysters--a

sedentary species--now exists. Maryland's position is that oysters are a

resident shellfish, consistent with the laws of many states, and thus remain

the property of the state. However, until a Virginia waterman takes oysters

from Maryland and the case is tested, doubts remain. The basis of the

Seacoast decision is necessarily vague as to whether state residency require-

ments for any marine species, or just free-swimming fish, are invalid.
Virginia also produces oysters (mainly on leasehold) and MSX has severely

diminished their stocks. Fears -exist Virginia boats may move north onto

Maryland oyster beds. Were such an event to occur, gear conflicts.of a

major nature would ensue.

Thus, whereas one legal decision (Bruce has opened the Bay in Maryland

to watermen from different counties, with generally beneficial results, a

-69-

similar decision (Seacoast) may reduce opportunities'for Maryland water-

men. As detailed following, most Maryland oysters go to Virginia for

shucking; were Virginia boats capable of taking Maryland oysters, quite

likely much of the Maryland Bay fishery as practiced by Maryland residents

would disappear.

Trends with respect to harvest activities, then, include (1) relative

resource stabilization by virtue of oyster prupgati-on, area designation, gear

restriction, and catch limits; (2) a spirit of optimism among watermen as

evidenced by young men entering the fishery, vessel replacement or new con-

struction, and a chance to receive a decent income; (3) the introduction of

sophisticated equipment aboard boats--diesel power, hydraulics, electronics--

reflecting commitment to the future; and (4) establishment of a Maryland

Bay-wide, rather than county-wide, fishery with fears Maryland's jurisdiction

may be altered through interpretation of the Seacoast decision.

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D. 'SHORESIDE SALE, HANDLING, PROCESSING, AND DISTRIBUTION

1. Introduction

The purchase and handling of Bay seafood, like the activities of the

watermen themselves, is a highly individualistic, fragmented industry com-

posed of many small firms reaching many markets across the United States.

As with harves t activities, shoreside establishments are structured in

response to Bay conditions. They are extremely flexible and tend to operate

seasonally with the fisheries.

Many existing purchase and processing establishments are owned by ex-

watermen or members of their extended family, especially those located in

remote locations serving a small isolated community. Each dealer has an

assortment of watermen with whom he usually does business, and likewise a

group of customers built up over time. In a sense he operates a territorial

business. After Bruce there have been some changes; most often, however,

a travelling waterman sells to a buyer from near his home port: the buyer

will send a truck. Because supply sources are uncertain and the product is

highly perishable, dealers frequently exchange product among themselves to

Sources include conversations with industry and watermen representa-
tives. Literature sources supporting fieldwork include: Reference 1:
Analysis of Future Demand; Reference 2: Analysis of Transportation of
Maryland Seafood; Reference 6: Oyster Propagation in Maryland; Reference
11: Commercial Fishing and Processing Industries, Chesapeake Bay Area;
Reference 17: Annotated Code of Maryland: Crab Packers and Shippers;
Reference 19: Factors Affecting Demand for Oysters; Reference 20: Mary-
land Oyster Resource Expansion Task Force, Final Report; Reference 24:
Growth Prospects for the Oyster Industry in.Maryland; Reference 28:
Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List; Reference 29: Laws Con-
cerning Commercial Harvesting of Finfish; Reference 30: Laws Concerning
Commercial Harvesting of Shellfish; Reference 35: Maryland-Preliminary
Transportation Planning; Reference 38: Mobility of Oystermen; Reference
52: United States Regional Oyster Product Flow; Reference 56: Wholesale
Seafood Marketing.

-71-

to fill specific orders. Product flows from the dock to the consumer

vary considerably.

The dealer must find a supply either through direct purchase from

watermen or by filling orders with purchases from another dealer. Orders

must be matched with specific quantities and qualities. With the exception

of limited freezing capacities, a dealer works mostly on a day-to-day

basis: on the telephone early in the day to line up orders, then at the

dock for supplies, then later on the telephone to other dealers to fill

orders not supplied directly by "his" boats. Products bought from boats

in excess of orders is sold to other dealers. Although made up of small

independent fi ms, the need for product exchanges has established an extremely

valuable information network without which shoreside establishments could

not function.

Not only are sale and distribution establishments widely scattered

geographically around the Bay, their need for flexibility in the face of

resource uncertainty is expressed (like the watermen's) in a variety of

ways of doing business. There is the buyer of oysters, who buys oysters

and delivers them to someone else for further processing. There is the

buyer who also shucks his own oysters. There is the buyer of crabs for

further shipment . More often the buyer of crabs also picks the crabs,

although the resulting meat may go elsewhere for further processing and

packaging. There is the buyer of clams. Most clams go directly to New

England, fresh in the shell, although sometimes the buyer of clams also

removes the meat. Presently no processing houses in Maryland handle Bay

finfish; most buyers of fish sell the fish to other distributors or retail

markets.

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Most often, buyers handle everything: oysters during the winter, crabs

summers, and clams year-round. Processors of Bay resources are limited to

shucking houses for oysters, picking houses for crabs, and removing meats

from clams. Usually a winter oyster shucking house picks crabs summers.

Recently labor has been hard to find; today between sixty and eighty percent

of Maryland oysters leave the state as shellstock to be shucked elsewhere

(sixty-five percent to Virginia). Presently, there are an estimated 2500

people in the shoreside seafood business in Maryland, as contrasted to nearly

four times as many watermen. Individual plants ashore employ from six to

thirty-five people; there are possibly two hundred seafood plants in the state

of all kinds. Many of these are family operations supporting several water-

men families in a close-knit community. Processing enterprises require

stable supply; each packer must estimate in the morning what he has or will

have to sell and he must sell it all by evening. Most processors handle

diversified products for several reasons: to keep labor (a difficult task),
to keep boats (i.e. to buy consistently from a boat, a buyer must take what-

ever is landed), to enhance flexibility given resource fluctuation, to

operate as nearly as possible year-round to lower overhead, and to broaden

markets to keep up demand.

A typical Western shore operation, for example, will handle crabs
(steamed soft crabs sold locally), fish (frozen or sold locally), and oysters

(shucked, packed, and shipped by virtue of an agreement with a Virginia

buyer.) Some Eastern shore plants pick crabs during summer at a loss to

ensure a labor supply in winter, as,seasonal open-shut operations.have great

problems finding steady labor. Many plants have abandoned oyster shucking

recently, electing instead to ship oysters to Virginia.

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A serious and across-the-board problem for shucking and picking house
Owners is finding lahnr, a difficiflfy considered far wore seriotis Lhan market

V.P11811111ty (it PVeII 1eqoUrce qllpply. Ilip loriiblpw lies Pxl,,Letl ror twostity

years, made worse recently with inflation (which has far outstripped the

sales value of oysters to retail establishments), government unemployment

assistance programs, and other employment opportunities. As serious, how-

ever, has been the problem of the work itself. Shucking and picking are

semi-skilled jobs requiring training; two to four weeks are needed to bring

a new employee up to speed. Pay is piece-work,pay; i.e. the more meat pro-

duced, the more money is made. Some establishments have recently offered a
guaranteed minimum wage. However, a possible week's pay of $250 is uncertain
for twelve months. a year. Most importantly, the work is.stagnant; i.e. oppor-

tunities are seriously limited to move into management. Today's workforce

is composed of elderly people, particularly for oyster shucking; the more
modernized crab li-nes see younger women. Oyster shuckers are mostly black.

Unlike the watermen's way of life (many black watermen run boats as hand
tongers, clammers and patent tongers, as well as comprising most skipjack

crews), work in a shucking house provides little opport,unity for advancement.

The processing plants themselves carry severe limits regarding the price
they get for their product; in fact it was said that water'is often added

to oyster meats to create weight. Low prices for shucked meats - given

short shelf-life, likely market gluts during the period Thanksgiving -

Christmas, and a steady loss of a mass market for fresh meats - are squeezed

by the prices demanded by watermen. Plant overheads are high due to utility

bills,. maintenance, transportation costs, and many recent government health,

safety, and environmental standards increasing the'cost of doing business.

-74-

The state of Maryland provides significant unemployment comp ensation,

ce-work less with-
which when compared to the average wage received for pie

held tax, is only about one-fourth less than take-home pay for a week's work.
Some shucking and picking establishment employees work enough weeks

to qualify for unemployment compensation and then leave. Furthermore,

crab pickers are not considered by the State Unemployment Office to be oyster

shuckers; therefore, processors employ different groups at different times of

the year. Occupational and safety regulations prevent the hiring of children

although children commonly work on the nearby farms.

Although all processors we interviewed stated a desire to see develop-

ment of automated shucking and picking machinery as a means of expanding

their business activities, few.have chosen to invest in such equipment.

Crab,picking machinery is fairly well developed and currently being used with

success in Crisfield and Wingate; oyster shucking equ ipment must steam the

shells open, somewhat altering the product. Although such alteration may have

little effect for breaded portions or soups, most of Maryland's supply processed

within the state is sold raw. Thus, any alteration in product taste or tex-

ture is a source of concern. Reflecting the great uncertainties of doing

business because of uncertain product supplies and considering the needs

for low overheads, the large financial investment required for mechanized

lines has not been taken; rather, processing within the state of Maryland

has steadily decli.ned.

The seasonal nature of the fisheries has caused remaining processors

to utilize more and more imported product. Blue crabs are i-mported from

many other states. These are picked in Maryland, packaged, and distributed.

There are many fish processing houses, but all of them use imported fish

-75-

rather than Bay fish.

The smaller establishments (those without steady supplies from else-

where) have steadily branched into other related areas of business. Many

dealers now operate marinas, yacht service facilities, ice-making ma chines,

and transport-fleets moving a variety of goods. While unwilling to invest

large sums in expensive equipment, they have demonstrated great initiative

and flexibility to make best use of their location on the Bay.

All dealers we spoke with decried increasing government regulations,

which in their view vastly increased their costs. Most buyers and processors

are located on the waterfront. Effluent restrictions (e.g. being

unable to wash mud off oysters - mud dredged from the Bay - back i nto the

Bay) and various safety, occupational, and environmental regulations were

particularly mentioned.

Because most buyers and dealers rely upon associations of trust with

the watemen, they often act as suppliers for many of the watermen's needs.

Ice, fuel, and miscellaneous spare parts are often seen in a seafood estab-

lishment. Dealers will provide ice at no cost to watermen during the summer.

Since Bruce, travelling boats tying up at a distant dock need to

purchase food as well; many dealers serve as grocers for transient watermen.

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2. Purchases Over the Dock

Nearlyall transactions at the dock are on a cash basis. A waterman

unloads his catch, the weight is calculated, he receives cash money, and

rarely are "tabs" run up unless by mutual agreement. Watermen with crews

function on a "lay" or share system as in most American fisheries, receiving

a percentage of daily landing revenues. Boats, save skipjacks, take one-third

of gross stock. The boat share covers maintenance, finance cost, and major

gear items. Expenses are then deducted (fuel, bait, food, possibly some

gear expenses) and the remainder is divded equally between captain and

crew (if he has a crew). Recent Federal legislation (the so-called Sternman

Bill) has strengthened the long tradition of self-employment; crew on small

fishing vessels are considered self-employed rather than, for tax purposes,

employees of the boat owner.

Opinions differ among watermen and dealers as to who control s the price.

Watermen feel the buyer controls price; the buyer argues-the price is set

by the watermen's demands and distant purchasers of product. We often heard

the oyster price was established before the start of the season by chain

stores and other customers; yet soon after the oyster season opened in 1978

a group of watermen refused to fish until they received a higher price.

Use of CB radio on boats has led to Bay-wide knowledge of higher prices re-
ceived, reducing buyer flexibility in this regard.

At present, watermen receive between $5.00 and $7.00 a bushel for

oysters ($7.00 is considered a high 1978 price). Given existing catch lim-

its, daily gross incomes are limited to $175.00 for single-handed tongers

and $350.00 for two-handed boats.

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Clammers, limited to fifteen.bushels per boat per day, have seen prices

as high as $25.00 per bushel this year. However, the high price reflects

scarcity of supply; a good day for a single-hander is ten bushels ($250.00).

A good trip for crab boats is 1500/1600 pounds per day. Prices vary

seasonally. A June price of 50 cents a pound yields-a gross stock as

high as $800.00; a September price of 25 cents a pound cuts the gross in

half. Crab boats have higher expenses than tongers or clammem to cover

costs for bait and gear.

Skip jacks can gross over $600.00 a day, of which three quarters goes to

the boat. On good days under sail the figure can be much higher. A skip-

jack season, however, is only five months long.

1971 estimates of profitability for the oyster harvest demonstrate hand

tongers enduring as successful operations, eclipsed only by double-rig patent

tongers. The figures reflect the high expenses required for skipjack

activities.

ESTIMATES OF PROFIT FOR OYSTER HARVESTERS:
CHESAPEAKE BAY, 1971*

Gear Type Percent Profit
Hand Tong 16.97
Patent Tong
'Single 13.49
Double 17.31

Dredge 4.1

*Source: Growth Prospects for the Oyster Industry in Maryland, Figure,5.

-7.8-'

Watermen we spoke with mentioned their gross income has not kept pace

with inflation. Since 1971, (when the above figures were calculated), fuel

costs have quadrupled for diesel fuel, costs have more than doubled for gas,
oil prices have tripled, and costs of synthetic rope made from petrochemicals

have quadrupled. However, the ex-vessel price received for oysters (as an

example) was between $4.00 and $5.00 a bushel ten years ago and has since

risen less than fifty percent. Many watermen stated their net income a

decade ago was greater than the returns they receive today.

Although crab prices have risen more than oyster prices, the labor

shortage for pickers has forced many dealers to place limits on boats selling

to them, reducing potential returns to the watermen.

Generally, when supplies are scarce the price is more or less controlled

by the watermen, as dealers must pay premium dollar for product; when

supplies are abundant the price is directed by the ultimate customer. Use

of CB radio by watermen, many product.sales among buyers to fill orders, and

extensive exchange of information among buyers while moving product tends

to average Bay prices paid watermen over the year.

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3. Handling and Processing Details

Although many firms buy and sell all Bay shellfish species of commercial
value, the handling and processing characteristics of each species differ

sign if i can tly.

Oysters serve a narrow market based on tradition and seasonal market

demand. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the essence of the business. Oysters

are landed in bushel containers and those shucked in Maryland are moved to

shucking houses. Shuckers stand along a waist-high bench shucking oysters

with a special knife and placing the meats in.a bucket. A few estab-

lishments use automatic conveyor systems. Here oysters are automatically

dropped into small baskets from a central store; the baskets move along a

continuous track, passing overhead the seated shuckers and providing a con-

stant supply. When the baskets again pass the central store (usually located

close by a dock at the end of the building) an automatic trip-lever system

releases additional oysters if the level in the passing basket is low. When

full, the bucket of meats is emptied into containers and chilled for further

shipm ent or sale. Many oyster operations follow the watermen's tradition of

working with low overheads--for as little capital as possible. Oyster shucking

houses are often old, poorly-lit, and small. Owners of such establishments

are reluctant to invest in capital improvements because both supply and

labor to shuck that supply are uncertain.

Paid on a piece-work basis, shuckers understandably refuse to work if

oyster meats cut small. Sometimes bars produce small oysters; or early in

the season, before "fattening up," a bushel yields only four pints instead

of six or seven. Processors cannot get shuckers under these conditions.

_80-

Oysters not marketed in the shell may be sold raw, canned, breaded,

smoked, or frozen. Oysters do not have a very long shelf life in raw form.

In the shell as taken from the Bay an oyster will last a week, if chilled,

before spoiling. Meats removed from the shell are suitable for two addi-

tional weeks under proper conditions. The seasonal market and oyster

perishability cause many chain stores to add 50 percent to the price to

cover internal losses if all the oysters are not sold promptly.

Due to labor shortages, 75 to 30 percent of landed oysters leave Maryland

while in the shell. Processors we interviewed often stated they were

shucking only 10 percent of the oysters they were handling-

Most oysters are sent into Virginia for shucking there. Shucking

labor is available in Virginia because the workers are far from other job

opportunities, Virginia offers less unemployment compensation, and large

leasehold companies employ steady shuckers to handle product replacing

Virginia's oyster grounds lost to MSX. Maryland provides the primary supply

of oysters to Virginia today; oysters from Virginia waters are supplemental.

Some Maryland firms ship oysters to Virginia for shucking and then re-

transport the meat to serve long-term customers. Many oysters from Maryland

are shipped.to Chincoteague Bay as higher salinities there heighten flavor

and increase price. Oysters are placed in Chincoteague water for two weeks

before reshipment back to the sender or sale to another shucking house.

As detailed in a later section (Chapter E: Institutional Framework)

the loss of oyster shells to-Virginia represents both a financial and
resource loss to@Marylan*d. Some fresh shells (which form the best cultch

material of all) are purchased from Virginia by the Fisheries Administration

or the Potomac River Commission, amounting to about one-half million

bushels every year, less than one-third of the total lost by Maryland

annually. Most shells remain in.Virginia, used by seafood fi rms as cultch

on their privately-held leaseholds.

Most of the oysters landed by Maryland watermen, while representing the

state's most valuable commercial Bay species, leave the state in the shell.

Opportunities for economic multipliers as a function of shoreside processing

activity are lost.. With the loss of.the shellstock oyster to Virginia is

a resulting loss of market control for Maryland firms and an inability to

affect the prices offered by customers. Valuable cultch material is

also lost.

In addition, most other coastal states produce oysters, competing with

Maryland product although when most consumers think "oyster" they think

"Chesapeake Bay." Several foreign nations are exporting oysters to the

United 5tates for use in breaded and fried portions as additional competition.

Blue crabs are landed and sold alive. A great portion of the market

for steamed and soft crabs is within Maryland itself; many dealers sell all

hard crabs in the state. The growing tourism around the Bay has resulted

in crabs being landed ' steamed, and sold directly to retail customers with-

out further processing. Soft crabs, held in trays ashore until shedding is

complete, are likewise sold without further processing; soft crabs are

fried whole and consumed in sandwiches or seafood platters.

Many establishments remove the meat from steamed crabs and sell the

meat to other customers canned or frozen. Crab.picking houses, like oyster

houses, find labor a problem, although the workforce is.composed of many

more young people (usually women),.whose dexterity is advantageous.

-82@-

The crabs are purchased from boats unloading at the plant or trucked

from outports. Crabs are first steamed; i.e. large baskets are filled with

crabs, placed in a cooker, or steamer, and steamed 15 to 20 minutes. Such

cooking baskets can weigh 500 pounds when full of crabs.

When cooked, crabs are sent to the picki ng line or refrigerated until

the line requires them. Those removing meat from the cooked crabs break

the shell, remove the back-fin lump (the most valuable and prized portion),

and the rest of the body. Meat is placed in a small container, shells and

entrails are di sposed of.

Crab picking like oyster shucking is piece-work. The small container

holding,the meat, when full, is taken to a scale in the plant and the meat

weighed. The weight produced by each picker is recorded.

Crabmeat is then canned or frozen. Meat placed in cans is run through

a conveyor. As the cans pass under a rotating plate, the cans stop until

the plate has pressed a lid on each can; several sets of lids are located

around the plate and about one can every second can be topped.

The covered cans are then placed in a cooker at 1850F to be fully

sterilized and pasteurized. They are then labeled.(if sold under a specific
plant logo) and distributed to retailers or other buyers. Pasteurized

and refrigerated crabs have a long shelf life.

Frozen crab meat is produced by placing picked meat in plastic bags,

freezing the bags, and thendistributing the portions in insulated containers.

Frozen meat is purchased by large buyers.

Culls (crabs with one or both claws missing or otherwise incomplete)
and females (smaller than the males) are difficult to pick. Less meat is

produced within the same time required to pick top-quality males. Productiv-

-83-

ity of the picker is reduced. Buyers try to ensure a good balance between

large males and the more difficult smaller crabs; too many culls or females

cause workers to refuse to pick. As mentioned previously, watermen are often

limited in the quantity a buyer will accept; the buyer cannot handle more

crabs than can be picked. During the summer many houses hire high school

students and generally sufficient labor is availabl e at that time.

With the exception of Eastern Bay, Maryland crab quality is considered

poorer today than in the past--crabs run smaller than imports from else-

where.

Crabs are easy to ship. Crabs are usually trucked, and at least three

companies are air-shipping frozen soft-shell crabs to United States destinations.

Maryland has strict sanitary restrictions for acceptable meat and makes

efforts to limit a large and steady production of home-picked crab meat.

Many watermen work with their families to produce meat picked in the kitchen

or in a small picking house in the yard. Such meat, called "bootleg" meat,

is shipped to many sources in small trucks or sold directly to Maryland

restaurants. Figures on quantities of such bootleg meat are unknown but

suspected to be "large." Catch and landing figures for crabs are not nearly

as precise as those for oysters and clams, as buy slips, the state landing

recording system, are not required for crab sales.

Despite state regulations, watermen find crab picking at home as advan-

tageous. Incentive to produce top-quality meat is higher, sanitary conditions

in a home setting are considered at least as high as in picking houses, and

prices received for such meat are high. A very large market exists for

bootleg crab meat. Prices paid watermen by the dealer are always compared

to potential prices from bootleg picking and if the dealer's price is much

-84-

lower the waterman may change buyers.

Soft-shell clams are presently a low-volume, high-priced product.

Further processing of soft-shell. clams beyond meat removal is seldom done;

most leave Maryland in the shell.

Many shucked clams go directly to New England. Shell -stock clams and

shucked meats are shipped to Fulton Market in New York; we heard nine-

tenths of the clams shipped from the state go through Fulton, which

once refused Maryland clams due to a high bacteriological count in samples

taken from Maryland distributors.

Whereas soft clams once provided breaded and fried portions for New

England use, during the past decade the surf clam (landed from ocean-going

vessels along the mid-Atlantic coast) has substituted for the soft clam

in increasing amounts..

-85-

4. Costs for Purchase and Handling

Costs for the purchase and handling of Bay shellfish are a function of
raw material cost (price paid the waterman), transport, labor, overhead,

and packaging. While specific figures for all categories were beyond the

scope of this study, general costs can be estimated for many categories.

Transport costs to move oysters from an outport to a shucking house

(recognizing the lack of shucking capacity and resulting need to move product

to remaining shucking houses) range between 50 cents and one dollar per

bushel.* Oyster yield varies according to the time of year and the oyster

bar of origin, ranging between four and eight pints per bushel.

An oysterdealer pays (1978) about $6.50 for bushels received from

watermen. Shuckers are paid about three dollars a gallon for meats produced.

Eight pints are contained in one gallon; the shucker must cut two bushels

at four pints per bushel as opposed to one bushel at eight pints per bushel

(rarely are yields so high) to receive three dollars. When a good shucker

makes fifty dollars in a day, yields must be high; at least twenty bushels

must be cut.

In addition, fixed costs and packaging are included in the processor's

cost. Many shucking houses own their own trucks; transport costs of oysters

from the plant also must be covered. Final transport figures were unavailable,

but the average cost of processing fresh oysters had 12 percent of the total
cost applied to fixed fees (utilities, overhead, management) and three

percent applied to packaging.**

*Reference 52: U. S. Regional Oyster Product Flow, p.2.
**Ibid, p. 3.

-86-

For example, assume the landed price of oysters is $6.00 per bushel

and yields are six pints per bushel. Costs to the processor would require

at least the following sales price to break even:*

Landed Cost Transport Cost Cost at Plant

A. $6.00/bushel + $.75/bushel $6.75/bushel

B. a) 6 pints/bushel requires 1.3 bushels shell,-stock to yield a gallon
of meats; or

Landed Cost Transport Cost Cost at Plant

b) $6.00 x 1.3 + $-75 x 1.3 = . $8.78/gallon
$7.80/gallon $.98/gallon

C. Landed Cost Fixed Cost
at Plant for Labor to Plus Cost at Plant
One Gallon Meats Cut Meats Packaging Outlet

$8.78 + $3.00 + $2.07 $13.85/bushel

D. Assuming a transport cost double the cost to move oysters from the
dock to the plant, recognizing the greater distances to be traveled,
cost to the processor totals:

Cost at Plant Bare Cost to
Outlet Transport Cost Processor

$13.85/bushel + $1.50/bushel. $15.35/bushel

The above calculation must be measured against a value of $18.00 per

gallon--the price paid the processor for small containers of shucked meat.

The processor must pay taxes, unemployment insurance, advertising, and

miscellaneous overhead charges from the difference, as well as repacking

costs (see below).

Value Cost Net Gain
$18.00 $15.35 $2.65

*These figures have been drawn from interviews and do not reflect total costs
to the processor.

-87-

However, processors we spoke with stated yields of between four and

five pints per bushel landed early in the 1978 season. Yields of four

pints per bushel, calculated as above, result in processor costs of $19.50

for one gallon of meat while the price received remained $18.00.
Cost at
Transport Labor Fixed Cost Plant
Landed Cost Cost Cost & Packaging Outlet

$6.00 x 2 + $.75 x 2 + $3.00 + $3.00 $19.50
$12.00 $1.50

These very general cost estimates indicate the thin profit margin often

facing shucking houses. When yields are low (or when supplies are low with

higher prices to watermen), processors will lose money. While practiced

in some areas more than others, sometimes as much as 40 percent of shipped

weight may be added water to make up the difference between costs and prices

received. Water additions are well-known throughout oyster markets and

have further reduced Maryland's outlets in favor of "denser" packed oysters

from elsewhere.

Most Maryland shuckers sell to repackers who sell to chain stores.

Chain stores are the price-setters on one-half to one pint containers of

shucked raw meats. Retail prices are usually increased 50 percent to cover

shelf-life losses. The price paid by chain stores is negotiated before the

oyster season starts and as a consequence is fixed at one end. Processors

must manipulate prices paid watermen according to yield of*meats and other

costs; a difficult task given the watermen's widespread use of CB radio.

A processor producing over 1,500 pounds in a day is rare.

Crab handling costs like oyster costs are limited by retail prices

received for end product. The following example considers packed, pasteur-

ized meat, currently selling at retail for $10.00 per pound.

-88-

Landed crabs vary in ex-vessel' prices from 50 cents per pound early in

the season to 25 cents a pound in September. Good production of meat, like

the oyster houses, is 1,500 to 1,600 pounds a day.'

Crab processing is more profitabl.e than oyster shucking. A packer must
place a value on raw meat produced from the steamer at between $1.80 per pound
(14 percent yield at 25 cents a pound) and $5.00 per pound (10 percent yield
at 50 cents per pound).
Labor costs for picking meat average about $1.25 per Pound. A top picker

is capable of producing eight to ten pounds per hour, although four to five

pounds per hour is average.

Costs for overhead, machinery, financing, packaging materials, and

transport from the plant to-customer were unavailable, although estimates

givep quoted $3.00 per pound.

Prices received by the processor for a pound of meat ranged between

$7.00 and $9.00 per pound.

Summary figures are following, assuming an average meat cost of $3.00

per pound (midway between the $1.80 and $5.00 figures given above):

Overhead, Utilities
Cost for Meat Labor Packaging- Total

$3.00 + $1.25 + $3.00 $7.25

Crab products are'sold td individual customers--distributors to res-

taurants, restaurants directly, smaller traditional customers, and some
institutions. C rab processors can net between'50 cents and $1.75 per pound
depending upon yields of picked meats from supplies.

Many high school students work in crab houses dUring the summer when

school closes; for this reason, labor.is not as serious a problem as for

oyster houses.

_89-

Maryland crab houses import large quantities of crabs from southern

areas along the Gulf Coast. Such imports are usually large select male

crabs, air-shipped or trucked north. Imported crabs serve to stabilize the

Maryland industry, although direct shipments to retailers from other states

are reducing local markets for Maryland firms. Transport costs are also

high for imported crabs, increasing costs to the processor.

The rough product cost estimates presented here, recognizing their

incomplete nature, demonstrate the thin margin often present for Maryland

processors. Margins vary day to day. Supply uncertainties force processors

to function on a day-to-day basis when operating their business, hindering

long-range planning or investment. Many dealers we spoke with felt the

higher values of raw product and variations of supply increased their dif-

f i cul ty to make a prof i t.

-90-

5. Identification of Shucking-Picking Centers

The large number and small size of most processors result in locations

scattered throughout the Maryland shore.

Local buyers are situated in most fishing communities. Often they

purchase product for shipment elsewhere in Maryland for further processing.

Many local buyers operate crab picking houses in summer. Oyster shucking

establishments are not spread as widely as crab picking establishments.

Generally fish taken in the Bay are sent to Rock Hall or companies

along the Potomac Shore.

Crab picking has.concentrations in Grasonville, Wingate, Deal, and

Crisfield, with greatest effort seen in Crisfield. However, bootleg

operators function in most small communities.

Oyster shucking centers are found in Grasonville, Annapolis, Tilghman,
and Cambri 8ge.

Clam buyers and distributors are centered in Grasonville.

_91-

6. Product Distribution

The small buyers ship product to many wholesalers, retailers, and dis-

tributors. Product flows change regularly although most wholesalers are
found in Annapolis, Grasonville, Easton, Cambridge, Tilghman, Crisfield, and
Pocomoke City. The smaller buyers we interviewed felt the large wholesalers

set prices-in many cases.

The wholesalers distribute product widely to many markets located all

over the United States. Most wholesalers owned their own trucks (as did the
smaller buyers), sending shipments on regular routes as far north as Montreal,

south as far as Texas, and west to Chicago and Los Angeles. Buyer-shippers

move the product in live chilled form, frozen, canned, or cooked. Trucks

moving product after Maryland processing are large, often insulated trailer

ten-ton or semi-rigs. Many are refrigerated.
All categories of dealers (primary, wholesale, primary/wholesale) when

purchasing oyste rs from watermen send trucks with conveyors; clams and crabs

are most often delivered directly to the dealer's dock.

The product distribution system is generally controlled by the telephone

and use of trucks. Buyers own "buy trucks" which work on short- or long-term

arrangements with watemen. Product is bought on the road wherever watermen

land, arranged by radio or telephone. Some watermen have trucks of their

own. Such "buy trucks" are small, insulated one-half to five-ton single

chassis units. Many converted pick-ups serve as buy trucks. Different

distribution methods are a function of individual preference on the part of

waterman and buyer. Many different arrangements exist on the same dock;

we observed three watermen unloading next to each other on the Western Shore:

one was loading his own truck for shipment to Annapolis, another was unload-

_9Z_

ing into a truck sent by a local buyer, and the third was unloading to a

truck up from Virginia.

In addition to dealer-owned.trucks (either small units for dire ct pur-

chase at the dock or the larger distribution units), several commercial car-

rier firais move Maryland product. These.firms often follow the same routes

on the same days, often to meet an early-in-the-week chain store delivery;

dealers and watermen using such fi rms make efforts to meet their schedules.

Many trucks from Virginia travel to Maryland, mostly purchasing shell-stock

oysters for shipment back to Virginia. Often trucks moving highly processed

Maryland fisheries products (surf-clam portions or frozen fish from the
Coldwater plant in Cambridge) will take Bay products if they have space.

Hundreds of "gypsies" transport Bay products, especially crabs. Many

small trucks are sent into the Bay region from the westward to fill one or

several small orders for out-of-state retailers. While the product distribu-

tion system is highly competitive, rates have been increasing with fuel cost

increases. Presently many small lots-are shipped to many spots, and buyers

we contacted felt there was no difficulty in shipping truckload lots anywhere.

The movement of shell-stock oysters into Virginia for seasoning (Chinco-

teague) or shucking, and then the shipment of those oysters back to Maryland

dealers, doubles transport costs and has increased product costs.

Air transport remains extremely expensive, although frozen soft crabs

have been air-shipped recently.

Very little rail transport now occurs compared to years ago.

-93-

7. Product Destination

There is no one central ma.rket.for product distribution in Maryland
though the Baltimore market distributes fish/shellfish to both the Baltimore

and Washington metropolitan areas. Baltimore does not appear to be an organ-

izing factor for distribution, but is considered a market area for

product with a wide variety of retail and wholesale outlets. While most

clams pass through Fulton in New York, Fulton is avoided by Maryland dealers

whenever possible.

Markets tend to be widely scattered and composed of many individual out-

lets: restaurants, retail establishments, chain-storesand institutions.

Markets exist all across the country. Each distributor has a carefully

built-up market system on the basis of personal knowledge and geographic

routes.

Bay fluctuations in abundance, geographic isolation, a resulting lower

scale of operations, product perishability, and seasonality have made the

distribution and market system for Bay species similar to the harvesting

systems upon which sales depend: requiring flexibility, individuality,

low overhead, and uncertainty about the future. Dealers and processors,

directly.facing such factors as import competition, labor supply, and the

need for heavy investment to modernize, unlike the watermen selling raw

product over the dock, feel trapped in a steady and vigorous economic squeeze.

-94-

8. Shoreside Sale, Processing and Distribution: Trends

Changes in the shoreside aspects of Maryland Bay fisheries include

product supply trends, marketing trends, and-resulting product handling

trends.

Product Supply Trends. -Supplies to dealers have changed greatly during

the past decade. Within the Bay, oysters have remained in good size condi-

tion, crabs are smaller than those from other coastal areas, soft-shell

clams are growing scarce, and finfishing ha s dropped tremendously from years

ago.

On the other hand, the Bruce decision has found buyers receiving steadier

supplies from watermen who have begun traveling. The evolution of the present

shoreside system was as much affected by county lines as were the activities

of watermen. Small buyers today still operate a territorial business as they

did prior to Bruce, designed to serve the small, boats from a nearby area; yet

today the CB, telephone, mobility of watermen,and a truck/conveyor system

adjust cupply variations to Bay-wide resource abundance rather than

county-wide. Competition among buyers for Bay resources has also increased.

The seasonality of supplies, coupled with a business need to operate

year-round,and improved transport and refrigeration techniques, has found

many buyers depending on imports from out of state. Several dealers we

interviewed had business interests in other states to promote more consistent

supply.

Crabs now arrive from the entire Gulf and Southeast Atlantic Coast. In

the spring nearly 400 cases of crab enter Maryland every night from the Gulf
Coast alone. Crab imports have increased considerably since hurricane Agnes.

-95-

Oyster imports compete with Maryland oysters for breaded and fried por-
tions. Most other coastal states produce oysters with increasing government

support as aquaculture techniques are improved.

Many of the larger Maryland buyers today do not depend upon Maryland

products for supply to the extent they used to. Supply sources are now

from national sources rather than Bay waters alone.

A potential new supply source may soon be oysters raised in hatcheries.

Technology today is nearly capable of producing hatchery oysters commercially;

costs for algae to.feed oyster larvae remain high. An oyster hatchery currently

supplying seed oysters is located in Cambridge. A current effort on the part

of watermen carries promise: oyster spat are to be transferred into crab

shedding trays and there.raised before placement on natural bars.
Much literature (and several Maryland planning reports) argue that

public.oyster bars be joined by private leaseholds on currently barren oyster

bars. Virginia's experience has shown leaseholds to be more productive than

seeded public bottoms, although resistance to disease when oysters are

so concentrated may be much reduced. While several dealers we spoke with

were in favor of leaseholds, most were not, stating current labor forces

were insufficient to handle potential harvests from public bars today, let

alone leaseholds.

The state of Maryland has not generally favored leasing, although some

leaseholds exist. A desire to transfer privately held oysters from con-

demned areas into rafts anchored in public waters for depuration has been

expressed. Were such a step taken, were it successful and legally operable,

significant changes might ensue regarding Bay oyster supply.

-96-

Marketing trends. Marketing trends are first influenced by Maryland

seafood products.increasingly beco ming gourmet items. Oyster and crab-prices

are as high or higher than other shellfish; today shellfish are considered

luxury items by most consumers.

However the markets for fresh oysters have also been decreasing. Dealers

told us fresh oyster eaters are an aging generation; young people have not

maintained the market. In an era governed by convenience foods and passive

appearance of product, oysters suffer.

Markets for crabs have shrunk somewhat as other suppliers have taken to

dealing directly with customers rather than moving product through Maryland

fi Ms.

Soft-shell clam markets are increasingly filled with surf clams and

ocean quahogs, especially for chowders. Recently several foreign nations

sent delegations to Maryland firms in search of product, especially Japan.
Such markets are expanding as other nations adjust to supplies lost to their

fleets under 200-mile limits; they now seek similar product. For example,

Japan seeks Maryland crabs to fill demand that can no longer be met with

Alaskan crabs formerly taken in the United States Fishery Conservation Zone.

Although the Bay is well'known for striped bass, maKets for Bay

finfish are nearly entirely local or sent to freezing establishments handling

vast quantities for fast-food chains.

Product handling trends. The first and most significant product

handling trend has resulted in additional loss of market control: shipment

of the most valuable proportion of Bay products out of Maryland in raw form.

The shipment to Virginia of most Maryland oysters prior to shucking has lost

economic multipliers and direct market access to the state. The lack of a

-97-

labor supply, working conditions, and acceptable wages has forced many

Maryland shucking houses to close down'. Crisfield, once a large oyster

center, today has shifted entirely to crab processing; other shucking areas
are often forced to' export nine-tenths of the oysters they buy. Losses to

Maryland processors as a result of inadequate processing capacity have been

estimated to exceed $57,.000,000 of business between 1969 and 1973.*

The problems of inadequate labor and product movement from the state

have existed for 20 years. These problems have significantly hindered capital

improvements.

Al I dealers we interviewed expressed interest in automated processing

machinery, feeling such machinery was essential for future business. Crab

picking machines are currently under experimentation in Crisfield and Wingate

with promising results. Such m achines continue to experience problems. For

example, cleanliness of the conveyor moving crabs through the machine remains

a problem. Dealers hope machines can handle crabs in times of surplus supply
(unlike today when boats are put on limits). Pickers would perform other

tasks (feeding the machines, packaging, etc.) an d thus employment would not

be reduced.

Oyster shucking machinery is universally considered a major need if

Maryland firms are to gain multipliers from state-processed product. To

date,such machines (like automated calico scallop shucking machines) open

shells using steam, slightly altering the oyster in the process. Concerns

have been raised the Maryland market cannot accept altered product for the

fresh trade, yet such trade only directly supports 30 percent of Maryland's

oyster business.

*Reference 24: Growth Prospects for the Oyster Industry in Maryland, p. viii.

_98-

Presently no processor has invested in an experimental oyster shucking

machine because of these concerns.

Freezing is increasingly used for oysters and soft crabs. Oysters are

frozen for the institutional trc,de, and crabs are frozen for air shipment

overseas contributing flexibility to marketing.

All sboreside interviews included references to increasing government

safety regulations, sanitation standards, and environmental restrictions.

Although many dealers felt sanitary conditions required improvement for

better competition in the marketplace, many regulations have the effect of

increasing overhead without increasing productivity.

Buyers/processors today feel they must work closely with government to

work out problems, oper ate their business from day to day to make a profit

because margins are so*close and losses cannot be made up, function within
a Bay-wide information network (CB radio and telephone), and above all, re-

spond to supply conditions.
Business difficulties have caused two particularly recent.changes in
shoreside sale and processing establishments. The smaller dealers (and some

larger wholesalers) are forced to expand into related businesses such as

ice, marine repair, yacht services, retailing, and providing services to the

tourist industry. Increasingly expensive operating and legal standards raise

fears the smaller processor cannot survive.

Recently, several larger processors have been purchased by corporate

conglomerates, indicating a nationwide trend in the seafood industry: na-

tional corporations catering to the frozen and fast-food markets, bought

_99-

from many sources and sold nationally. As in New England, Maryland's Bay

seafood industry has focused on fresh, relatively unprocessed product to

serve a steadily shrinking market, as people turn more and more to con-

venience foods.

_100-

E. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK*

1. Federal Activities.

Federal agencies currently have little effect upon the Bay fisheries:

rather, federal activities focus upon the condition of the Bay habitat.

Water pollution control legislation, environmental standards, and

wastewater treatment activities are very much controlled by federal agencies,

particularly the Environmental Protection Agency. Federal action will

ultimately have a most important impact upon the Bay's productivity. EPA

actions presently focus upon water quality as well as materials introduced

into the water. EPA has not considered Bay species as the measure of anti-

pollution efforts. EPA actions are considered by watermen as often incon-

sistent with Bay biology or the needs of the Bay fisheries. Those making a

living from the Bay feel nonpoint pollutants (agricultural runoff primarily)

are the major cause of the decline of Bay productivity, yet EPA's actions

have not focused on preventing such materials from being applied to the land.

Only recently have Federal efforts focused on a second major problem: toxics

and hazardous chemicals.

The EPA is currently undertaking a major Chesapeake Bay Study but results

are not yet available.

Federal' Coastal Zone Management activities represent a second federal

action influencing Bay fisheries, with a recent federal decision to focus

*Sources include conversations with Federal and State officials and industry
and watermen representatives. Literature sources include, but were not
confined to, the following: References 12, 13, 14, 15: County Plans (all);
Reference 17: Annotated Code of Maryland, Crab Packers and Shippers;
Reference 29: Laws Concerning Commercial Harvesting of Finfish; Reference
30: Laws Concerning Commercial Harvesting of Shellfish; Reference 34:
Maryland Coastal Zone Program; Reference 45: Potomac River Basin Directory;
Reference 48: Potomac*River Commission Regulations.

-lol-

on those living resources within the Coastal Zone as well as snoreside
land development activities. This report represents
the first stage of Maryland's participation in OCZM's newly created Coastal

Fisheries Assistance Program. Many sources we interviewed were concerned
that the management philosophy of OCZM (or any environmental management
bureaucracy) is focused upon management theory applicable only to predictive

rational activity within a fiscally oriented, tight time schedule. Yet the

Bay habitat -- and the communities based upon that habitat -- must be flexi-

ble and timeless if they are to survive.

The Fishery Conservation and Management Act, also recent federal legis-

lation, does not apply to fisheries management within the territorial sea,

although the close relationship between inshore-offshore waters has many

observers holding the view that federal influence in state waters must grow. One
immediate species of value to the Bay fisheries -- striped bass -- will be

managed on an interstate basis, most likely through the Atlantic States
Marine Fishery Advisory Commission,rather than a Regional Council.

Federal activities concerning power plant siting (Federal Power Com-

mission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and transportation (United States

Coast Guard and Federal Highway Administration) may also influence Bay

habitat conditions.

The Supreme Court of the United States has quite possibly had greater

potential effect upon Bay fisheries in Maryland'than any other federal entity.

As outlined earlier, Douglas vs. Seacoast Products may result in the invalida-

tion of Maryland's residency requirements for the taking of oysters. Currently

Maryland's public oyster bars are twice as productive as those located in

-102-

Virginia, possibly a result of Maryland's seeding program (detailed below).

Were residency requirements invalidated, Virginia boats would surely move

north. The Fisheries Administration has taken the position oysters are a

resident species to Maryland waters and thus not covered by the Supreme Court
ruling. The uncertainty at the present time of this issue has many people

seriously concerned. Were nonresidents allowed into Maryland waters, very

likely Maryland would.lose its incentive to replete its public bars for

Maryland watemen.

Furthermore, if leaseholds are exempt from Seacoast, but not public bars,

Maryland would likely be forced to totally change the structure and operation

of the present harvesting system, completely altering the entire fisheries

syste m with profound effects.

-103-

2. Maryland Activities

Maryland institutions having significant bearing on the-Bay fisheries
are the Fisheries Administration (Department of Natural Resources),

Coastal Zone Unit, and the Health Department.

The Health Department is responsible for the opening and closing of

fishing areas according to established biological standards. A Shellfish

Advisory Committee, made up of Health Department Fisheries Administration

and Coastal Zone Unit members, meets monthly to review status of closures

and establish future actions. In addition the Health Department is charged

with inspecting shoreside product handling establishments to ensure they

meet standards necessary for good product quality. The Maryland program

emphasizes sanitation inspections to support Maryland seafood quality control--

in hopes of avoiding such actions as Fulton's refusal in 1978 to accept

soft-shell clams. But many dealers we spoke with pointed out that one effect

of Maryland's stricter standards than those of Virginia's is to move product,

business and market control to Virginia from Maryland.

Currently over 60,000 acres of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland are closed

to fishing activity, including the upper reaches of nearly every estuary

upon which many finfish species are dependent during the early stages of their

life cycle. A generation ago less than a tenth of this area was closed.

Of all institutions affecting Bay fisheries, the Fisheries Administra-

tion actions are guided by a state position in favor of public shellfishing

and a general view that the major focus of Fisheries Administration actions is

to preserve the traditional way of life for fishing communities. As with

-104-

the commercial fisheries system itself, the regulatory structure has evolved

in response to an extremely variab le and complicated habitat.

Management principles include regulation of gear in accordance with

thebiology of the species sought, elaborate area restrictions with size and

landing limits, strong enforcement, a highly successful

public propagation program, and consistent interaction with watermen.

Currently the Fisheries Administration is preparing management plans for

Bay species. The process has just begun and is being structured within the

framework of a habitat approach rather than on a species-by-species basis.

As outlined previously (Harvesting Sector) the gear allowed for comer-

cial fishing has been limited to so-called 'inefficient' technologies: hand

tongs, trotlines, pots, serious limits on patent tongs and clam escalators,

and careful restriction on dredging under power. Much of this gear -_ save

patent tongs and clam rigs - has not changed in over a century. The gear

used today is 'in balance' with the stocks themselves yet provides a livelihood

for thousands of families. We found no watermen speaking.in favor of 'more

modern' gear. Many management restrictions are results of legislation passed
by a statehouse dominated by rural, fishing-based counties (before reapportion-
ment), a common factorin fisheries management among all coastal states. How-
ever, the economic success -- to the harvester -- resulting from antiquated
gear commensurate with stock biology suggests management based on 'inefficient'
gear promotes economic efficiency in the broadest sense. In this respect
Maryland-may be unique and lessons gained from the success-of such an approach
may be highly useful elsewhere.

-105-

In addition to gear restrictions are a host of species specific regu-

lations: size, location, and seasonal lim its. Oyster season runs from

September 15 to March 31. No more than 5 percent of a landed bushel -- by

count -- may be oysters with shells less than three inches wide, no more

than twenty-five bushels per day may be landed by one tonger, and all oyster

harvest must take place between sunrise and sunset. Skipjacks operate under

different regulations limited to 150 bushels a day and restricted to two

days a week during which power may be used.

The oyster bars within the Bay were last charted in 1913; over 900 bars

were then charted. A survey and mapping of the Bay has been occurring for

the past five years; to be completed by 1981. This survey will chart current

productive oyster bar locations.

Soft-shell clammers are limi-%'.-ed to fifteen bushels per day per boat.
Clams must be two and one-quarter'inches wide. Boats must fish between

sunrise and sunset. Certain areas have been designated for clamming, gen-

erally shoreward from oyster bars. Clammers may not operate on nondesignated

bottom, a regulation protecting oyster cultch under which clams may be found.

The Fisheries Administration will occasionally.change oyster bottom to clam

bottom after extensive negotiations with watermen.

Crabs are virtually unregulated except the shell of landed crabs must

measure five inches across for hard crabs, three and one-half inches across

for soft crabs and three inches for peelers. Any amount may be landed,

although as detailed earlier, buyers often limit boats to weights that can

be picked by pickers. Crab potters cannot run gear in the mouths of rivers

and.estuaries, which are restricted to trotliners. The crab season is not

regulated as the biology of the species creates its own season.

-106-

F.infish regulations include mesh restrictions on nets, prohibition of

otter trawling and purse seining, prohibition of mono filament, and length

limits as to yards of gillnets one can operate.

As the New England groundfishery has recently demonstrated, no fish-

eries management system will work unless-adequately enforced. In Maryland

the Marine Police enforce management regulations. As might be concluded

from the above paragraphs, Bay management is complex, geographically

focused, and must control thousands of small harvest units. The Marine

Police are located throughout the Bay and, in the words of one waterman,

"They are everywhere." Presently, about 200 men serve on the Marine Police,

about half from fishing communities. Marine Police have the same police

powers as other enforcement agents. Although many watermen resent Marine

Police, having been boarded on the Bay for minor reasons. All agree the

police are essential to proper functioning of the management system.

While jurisdiction in many fisheries.matters is limited -- for instance

the Potomac River Fisheries Commission has no authority over tributaries

the management system briefly detailed here, although complex to the out-

sider, is well understood by all Bay watermen and is most often respected.

Watermen, we were often told, accept the need for regulations.

A fundamentally important action carried out by the Fisheries Adminis-

tration (and the Potomac River Commission) is the oyster propogation program,

initiated most recently in 1960. Maryland spends two to three million

dollars a year on oyster restoration; the Potomac River Commission spends

between 200 and 300 thousand dollars.

The Fisheries Administration has several designated seed areas; areas

known for consistently good spatfall closed to fishing. Every spring, seed

fur-

oysters are moved from seed areas to bars known for good growing conditions.
As oysters require good cultch for setting and as other oyster shells

provide the best cultch, the state also contracts with a local firm to

11mine" the fossil beds at the head of the Bay. Shells are dredged from

these beds, washed, and redeposited on productive bars.

Because most Maryland oysters are shipped to Virginia for shucking,

both Maryland and the Potomac River Commission purchase shells from Virginia

shuckers. Less than one-third of those shells entering Virginia are pur-

chased back. Maryland assesses a tax on oysters leaving the state.* The

state presently pays between 25 cents and 30 cents a bushel for spent shells

from Virginia. The best oyster cultch are freshly shucked shells; Maryland

is thus annually losing much of the state's future oyster potential unless

other supplies are found.
The fossil beds cu'rrently being mined are expected to last another three

to five years before exhaustion.** While other states contain vast beds of

fossil shells (for example, Gulf Coast states)***, competing uses for those

shells (for road materials, poultry feed, cement mixture additives) do exist

and costs would be high.

Experiments have been attempted, with some success, on bagless dredging

of shells, washing, redeposit, and quicklime application (3 tons per acre),
which may improve oyster sets. Presently, however, such practices are not
followed to any great degree In Maryland.

Reference 62:. Oyster Industry in Virginia, p. 470.

Reference 6: Oyster'Propogation in Maryland, p. 12; personal communication,
Fisheries Administration Offices.

***Reference 61: National Fisherma n, November, 1978.

_108-

The Maryland seeding program has been successful and may be a major

reason the public bars are so productive today. Between one-half million

and one-million bushels of seed oysters are planted annually:*
Year 106 Bushels Cost $1000 Cost/Bushel

1971 1.1 427 .39
1972 .9 422 .45
1973 1.1 489 .45
1974 .4 168 .45
1975 .8 395 .47
1976 .6 290 .50
1977 .5 258 .50
5.4 2,449

A bushel of planted seed has a survival of 13-25 percent by the time

the oysters are commercially available three years later. However, as the

meats in the surviving oysters gain considerably in size, a rule-of-thumb

has been that a seed bushel will,as a minimum, yield a commercial bushel

when harvested. Examination of Maryland catch figures for the years 1974-

1976, when compared to seed bushels planted three years earlier, will indicate

the importance of the seeding program to the fishery:**

Quantity from Seed Maryland
Seed Planted for Harvest Three Harvest
Year 106 Bu Years Later 106 Bu 106 Bu

1971 - 1.1
1972 - .9
1973 - 1.1
1974 1.1 2.8
1975 .9 2.5
1976 1.1 2.4

*Reference 6: Oy er Propogation in Maryland, p.23.
"Reference 6 as above, Maryland Fisheries Administration.

_109-

Assuming oyster yields have stabilized recently, as we frequently

heard, between one-quarter and one-third of commercial harvest today is a

direct outcome of the seeding program. It would appear that the state

receives a return from oyster harvest and shipment taxes twice the cost of

setting the seed three years earlier. However, some of the total Fisheries

Administration budget comes from general state funds rather than license

and tax revenues.

Associations

Throughout this entire management process watermen's associations are

frequently consulted. Decisions as to where to place cultch and seed

oysters are made following negotiations with harvesters. Likewise, all

area designations and regulatory restrictions are first reviewed by watermen.

Every spring the Fisheries Administration hires about 300 watermen to move

seed oysters, providing spring employment during a low period of the annual

Bay fishery. Thus, although conflicts exist between the regulatory agency

and the watermen in the present system watermen have be come an important

and necessary part of the management structure. As evidenced in other

fisheries management difficulties elsewhere in the United States, management

*only succeeds if those being managed provide general support. In Maryland,

the complex regulatory system is well balanced by communication with watermen

and a highly important stock restoration program. Like other elements

of the Bay fishery system characterized here, the procedure works well.

Watermen's associations represent an-active element of the Bay fishery.

First established on a county-wide basis, the growing use of CB, the Bruce

decision, and wider product flows have seen development of a statewide associa-

tion that through its efforts has more than compensated for loss of political

-110-

power through reapportionment. The Association lobbies in the State House,

carries out various study contracts on matters regarding'Bay fisheries (a finfish

survey and recent contract using crab shedding trays for larval oyster growth),

and produces a comprehensive newspaper. Recently a clammers' association

has been formed.

Possibly nowhere else in the country (save Alaska) are fishermen so

active in government matters. Marketing associations have less authority.

The Seafood Association lost much of its representat ive authority when

watermen formed their own association. Dealers and processors feel the

DNR has promoted and encouraged watermen at their expense. Efforts continue

today to better organize shoreside elements of the Bay fishery system. The

serious difficulties faced by dealers and processors with respect to market

losses and product movements from the state in raw form, when considered with

possible Seacoast developments, carry serious implications for the watermen

themselves, for ultimately they require a strong shoreside marketing system

for continued success.

I V.
FISHERIES SYSTEM: INPUT-OUTPUT CHARACTERIZATION

The Category, Transaction,and Network tables presented here provide

a logical and realistic picture of functions and activities within Maryland's

Bay fisheries. Efforts to quantify in detail this 'shadow economy' with

its 'invisible transactions.and values' are extremely difficult. Concepts

of 'efficiency' and 'satisfaction' are personal and subjective, driven

largely by social rather than economic values. The categories as presented

in the following tables, with associated restrictions as detailed in the

accompanying explanatory text, although not suitable for direct translation

into economic models, do provide substance and direction for such modelling

efforts.

M M M M M MM MM

-112-

1. MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY CO!1HERCIAL FISHERIES SzfSTEM
BY DISAGGREGATED CATEGORIES

WATERMAN/ SERVICES TO PRIMARY REGIONAL SECONDARY SERVICES TO RETAILER &
HOUSEHOLD WATERMEN BUYER/PACKER WHOLESALER/DISTRIBUTOR BUYER...DISTRIBUT--:, EX-REGION WHOLESALER STATE
Oysters Boatbuilder [IN COMMON] Casual labor Buyer/packer retai I Cultch
handtong boats, engines (proportion)
patent tong propulsion, fittings Wholesaler/distribu:--- Seed
Garage r e =a-
dredge repair, maintenance Oysters expendable sup@-'es Restaurant Transport cultc
lease bed Manufacturer repair & mainte--=nce local and seed
Crabs boats, engines Oysters/crabs regional Management/
trotline propulsion, gear Welder/machine sri:: distant Administration
pot & equipment Oysters/crabs/finfish repair & mainte--=-ce Retail committees
scrape containers Crabs equipment local commissions
Clams Distributor Hardware regional research
hydraulic engines Clams expendable supp'es distant statistics
dredge propulsion, gear equipment Ex-region wholesale extension
Finfish & equipment Mari cul ture/bai t Manufacturer Market enforcement
drift net hydraulics, chandlery eels containers (whs-z & Baltimore sanitation
oyster rafting standards
set net Marina retail), equipr-E-: Philadelphia
Eels propulsion, chandlery crab peeling Distributor New York
fuel, ice, docking expendable supc es Norfolk
pot ------------------------------------- equipment New England
Multi-purpose Boatyard (Boston)
Fisher engines Transportati on.
ombin- propulsion contract trucki-- Ex-region distr.]:)-,:-
ation of chandlery, fuel Energy/utilities
above includinglubricants, docking SERVICES TO WATERMEN(continued) Wholesalers
charter) Garage I consumable sup:''es
engines, propulsion, Grocer retail inventor--.
gear & equipment food
maintenance & repair Buyer Boat services
lubricants ice, fuel, food (as watermen)
Wclder/machine shop bait, docking buy boat, yard :7:at
gear & equipment Finance/insurance fishboat
maintenance & repair Finance/insurance
Hardware Legal/accountina Legal/accounting
gear & eqji.--ent Government services
chandlery (federal

2. MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
TRANSACTION TABLE BY RELATIVE 14AGNITUDE

REGIONAL
PRIMARY SECONDARY SERVICES TO RETAILER &
WATERMAN/ SERVICES TO BUYER/ WHOLESALER/ BUYER... EX-REGION
HOUSEHOLD WATERMEN PACKER DISTRIBUTOR DISTRIBUTOR WHOLESALER STATE

WATERMAN/ 2 4 3 2 2
HOUSEHOI,n

ERVICES TO
WATERMEN 4 1

PRIMARY
BUYER/ 3 4 3
PACKER

REGIONAL
SECONDARY
HOLESALER/ 2 2 4 2
ISTRIBUTOR

ERVICES TO
BUYER. .2 4' 4
ISTRIBUTOR

V
ETAILER &
REGION 2
WHOLESALER

STATE 3. 2 2 1

CODE, 4 very large
3 large
2 small
C

JH
I

E
B

1 very small
- insignificant
(Code numbers indicate relative values)

I I -
3. MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY COM14ERCIAL FISHERIES
PRODUCT AND SERVICE TRANSACTION NETWORK

f* IA

IV
Uj

C) W 0) C a
= Uj M
&A In C@ 0 'A CA 25 .2
CA L. S- l- = - im Im C16
g 0) Q U
M I ILj
Z; 'a
1661 C "--,
"i
C5 3@

'..,ATERMAN/ IOUSEHOLD I I
Oysters x x x x x x x x x 1* 10
Crabs x x x x I I x X IX 1.1
I I x x
Clams 7 x Ix
FinfiSh -x I X :11
Eels xI x I x I I
MUT-ti-ourpose fishery I ix I Ix x x I xI x x Ix Ix Ix x
.):KVlLtb 10 WATEMEN
aGatbuilder 161 Is 0 01 0
Manufacturer .0 If Is 0 1
Distributor 0 2 9If If1 0 &
Marina It Is if I* Is If
5oatyard I* Is I* if 1# 1
Garage Is I aIf I* Is It I I I I I I I II I I I I
we)derjmachine shoR 6 It 10.10 1
Hardware 0
Grocer It if it
Buyer a Is I
ri;ance/insurance 10 10 7-r -16
Leaal/acco ing 0 If 10 1 1 1
unt
Government services (federal) I is is 10 1 it 0 1 1
PRIMARY/ SECONDARY
BUYER.-DISTRIBUTOR
vsters f I IX xI X-1 X- x IX xi X1 I xIX! I
Oysters/crabs I Ix yI xI xi x I ix Ix x Ix X1 x! x1x
Usters/crabs/finfiSh I Ix xI x xI x I I Iy x ly yj xI xIx
crabs I ly -yIx x x I
Clams 'x
Mariculture/bait x I Ix IxIx x X.I
SEPUCES TO I
BUYER...DISTP,TBUTOR I i -1
Manufacturer 3 0is If1 01.1 0 1 q,'f1 0If
Distributor is If I a-ta a I *I* I o I T-
Casual labor I f I I .1 19* 1 0 0 0 0
Garace 0it 10 1 10 0 is t
Welder/nachine shop 0 1 010 1 0 10 *1 01 910 1
Hardware It If I Is 61 01 0
Transportation is 10 if.
tnergy/utilities I I t Is
............... Z-I I I I
Wholesalers A 0 .0
.............
Boat services III
Finance/insurance 10 Ifi
Lecal/ac.ountinc
REJAILER & EX-REGION WHULLSALLK I I I I
Duver/becker ketai I i I
Wholesa ler/distritutor Retai I I I I I I I
---T-estaurant I i I I ; I :
Xetai I , I I I ; I 1-7-LI-7' I I I
Ex-recior. wnolesale ma7k'et I I I I ix Ix I I I 1XIx1 1
Ex-re;ion distributor I I Ix Ix YX XX X1 xI I I i
-j- i I I I I
Culzcr.
t"r

Seea
Transoort cu,tch and S&P
Manaaement/aaministra-1 n 1 91 9 1 a 0 lei* 1 4 0 1 lelfif &10 Is
COOZ: x Product o Service

112. Maryland Chesapeake Bay Commercial Fisheries System_by Dis
aggregated Categories

Watermen/Househol d

The Watermen/Household economic unit has been selected recognizing

that in most cases a waterman's fishing activities are conducted as part of

a family operation. Other family members make a significant contribution

to his efforts particularly in areas of financial management, accounting,

transportation, and in some instances as direct participants in shoreside

fishing activities. Household crab-picking, although not legally recognized,

must also be noted as part of family business activities.

The "Multipurpose Fishery" is the major fishing*effort cate-

gory. Watermen @ccording to their geographic location, access to resource,

and personal preferences) harvest an assortment ofspecies using various

gear combinations through the seasons. However, the more heavily capitalized

the boat and its gear, the more likely a waterman is to concentrate on cer-

tain species and move about the Bay. It is important to note many periods

of conversion to full-time charter work.

Services to Watermen

The services mentioned are purchased in different combinations by water-

men according to their individual fishing patterns . In essence, watermen

use in one way or another all the marine trade services on the Bay.

The "Chandlery" subcategory includes items such as paint, cordage, anchors,

etc. These items can also be obtained from a number of other sources.

The "Propulsion" subcategory refers to propellors and shafts, the pur-

chase of which requires careful selection and installation.

-116-

"Hydraulics" and systems components can also be assembled by local

shops and garages.

"Ice" used aboard boats is most often supplied free by buyers.

"Bait" can also be obtained from other watermen.

"Containers" used aboard boats can come from a number of sources and

many probably circulate indefinitely in the fishery until they are no longer

usable.

"Government Services" include such functions as financial aid programs,

and Sea Grant funded activities including extension services.

A waterman's household most often supplies small truck transport in

support of direct fishing activities.

Primary Buyer/Packer
Regional Secondary Wholesaler/Distributor

The term "dealer" when used refers.generally to all buyer/packer/whole-

saler/distributors. Differentiation among dealers by-species handled is

impossible to determine, although the Table indicates there are some special-

ists and most smaller dealers concentrate on a group of products.

Fish products are freely traded among dealers to make up quantities and

a "mix of species" to satisfy orders. This flow is also impossible to

quantify. Many sales and purchases may also be on a cash basis.

Regional wholesale/distribution focal points where larger "lots" of

species are "made up" and with which many primary dealer/packers trade

are: Rock Hall, Grasonville, Cambridge, Crisfield, and Galesville. With the

possible exception of clams, however, enough buyer/packers bypass these

centers in their operations to draw too many conclusions from this obser-

vation. On a smaller scale, many primary dealers perform as secondary whole-

salers, including pasteurizing, freezing, consumer packaging, and retailing.

Many serve distant ex-regional markets.

In conclusion it can be said that most buyer/packer, wholesaler/dis-

tributor categories cover the entire range of dealer activities over the

species they handle.

In many instances the profitability of a dealer business is dependent

on food, marine and tourist services selling ice, fuel, beer, as well as

retail fish with a narrow range of items for sale to the general public.

Rather than "integrating forward," dealers, alnost without exception, have

chosen to diversify into related businesses, using their geographic location

as a competitive advantage.

The form in which species are sold also ranges over the entire spectrum

of dealer businesses including steamed whole, picked, pasteurized and canned

crabs, and fresh, in shell, and canned oysters at all levels of distribution.

Many dealers freeze a proportion of their finfish for sale.

Although not usually described as such, many dealers are already engaged

in various stages of mariculture, if oyster rafting and crab peeling, not to

mention recent developments in eel culture are taken into account.

Services to Buyer-Distributor

As most labor is casual and this labor is directly applied to production,

it is categorized as "Casual1abor".

"Containers" include those used in handling and shipping crabs and fin-

fish and also cans used for processed oysters and crabs.

"Transportation" refers to outside contract services performed, recog-

nizing that dealers invariably own an assortment of trucks ranging from

pickups to large over-the-road tractor trailer rigs.

-118-

"Retail Inventory" includes all items for direct resal.e to retail

customers ranging from marine supplies to groceries, beer, wines, and

liquors, and restaurant supplies and food.

"Boat Services" are specificed in support of buy boats, yard boatsor

the occasional fishing boats operated by dealers.

Retailer and Ex-Region Wholesaler

Generally, most dealers in Maryland operate retail markets. Business

co nnections with more distant wholesalers, distributorsor retailers follow

a random pattern, each dealer following his own path into regional or more

distant markets.

Product form follows the same pattern, each dealer servicing his parti-

cular "demand mix". As stated befor e, dealers often supplement production

with items bought from other dealers.
It would appear the breadth of market served and not type of market

served forms the distinction between primary buyer/packer and wholesaler/

distributor. Dealers in the wholesale/distributor cateogry, however, will

usually (but not always) serve more distant markets.

State

Maryland's Department of Natural Resources provides an important economic
function for Chesapeake Bay fisheries which has been.described previously.
These functions have been categorized to reflect these services,in economic

terms all of which have an economic value in the fisheries system. Note

particularly that cultch is obtained from dealers, and seed from watemen.
Watermen themselves provide certain services to the state such as
serving on county committees, also many state departmental services are
used by dealers, the product inspection service being an example.

_119-

3. Product and Service Transaction Network

The network diagram is confined to those activities directly relating

to fish product flow through the system. The categories displayed (on all

tables) represent those functions with majority dependence on resource exis-

tence, production, distribution, and sale.

Categories without purchase transactions are not displayed.

Dealer sections (Table I) have been displayed as one category, 'Primary/

Secondary Buyer. ..Distributor.'

APPENDIX ONE
OBSFRVATIONS ON MARYLAND'S COASTAL
FISHERIES OCEAN CITY

The problems and opportunities represented by the fisheries conducted

from Ocean City are typical of those associated with many inlet ports on

the Northeast Coast. An exceptional advantage held by Ocean City, however ,

is an already developed fishing harbor. In terms of present usage this

may appear crowded,' but with proper allocation and use of existing* space and

hinterland, thi s facility could support more fisheries activities.
Among the factors impeding the natural growth of Ocean City as a fishing

port is the well-known shoaling of the inlet. Frequently, wind and sea,
make normal vessel operations hazardous when cruising the shoals. Surf

clam vessels face particularly dangerous conditions in light of fishing day

regulatory measures imposed by the current Federal Surf-Clam Management Plan;
they can only fish certain.days regardless of weather.

The present scarci ty of traditionally sought-after mid-Atlantic bight

finfish also limits initiatives to expand operations. And, although commer-

cial vessels are concentrated in the West Ocean City area apart from the

main spo rt and recreational Ocean City fis heries, pressures from this sector

for valuable berthing space are already apparent.

Although an extremely lucrative species in the recent past, present

Ocean City dependence on the vulnerable surf clam resource could in the
long run, through overconcentration of existing resources on this diminish-
ing fishery, inhibit opportunities in other directions. The same long-term
problems may also.occur with ocean quahogs. Many vessels in this fishery
are owned and managed from other ports, most of them as units in company

1-2

fleets. This has the effect of orienting the port around one type of opera-
tion. Local initiatives to build or purchase individual vessels to be owned

and operated out of Ocean City with more direct economic benefits for the

region may be thwarted by the 'company fleet' phenomenon. This point was

specifically mentioned in Ocean City conversations with local fishermen.

Port opportunities in the coastal finfisheries may best be represented

by access to stocks slowly rebuilding under the auspices of the Fisheries

Conservation and Management Act and even greater limitations of the foreign

fishing effort in the mid-Atlantic bight. Ocean City has an advantageous

geographic position to transfer effort to several so-called 'underutilized

species' which are abundant in the mid-Atlantic area. Many of these species

are heavily fished by foreign vessels. Coordinated attempts to replace this

effort, together with maintenance dredging of the inlet, could result in

additional stimulus for expanding Ocean City's commercial fisheries.

The Ocean City fisheries system infrastructure is well established,

represented by off-loading activities conducted by operating fishing companies.

Presently many of these activities are dependent on transient vessels using

the port seasonally as fish migrations are followed up and down the coast.

This leads again to the conclusion that most basic fisheries potentials

in Ocean City exist. If given a firmer foundation and properly directed and

channelled in concert with changing patterns and opportunities in the mid-
Atlantic fisheries,additional benefits would result.

Two existing fisheries, offshore lobster and red crab, appear to be
reasonably strong and substantial considering the size of the port and its
orientation. The existence of these fisheries is an example of what can be

accomplished under reasonable circumstances, individual initiatives, taking

advantage of natural assets and market opportunities.
The lobster fishery (conducted in specialized modern vessels) is probably

dependent for a large part of its market on local trade associated with the

regional tourist industry.

The red crab fishery, however, represents a particular and interesting

aspect of west Ocean City's fishing operations. The development of the red

crab resource is a recent event. Based on stock assessments and Fisheries

Management Council recognition of informal catch statistics, it appears that

Maryland's offshore red crab industry dominates the fishery, accounting for

close to two-thirds of what is generally thought to be its maximum sustainable

yield. Again, this example of success is suggestive of what could be accom-

plished using existing Ocean City assets.

It is estimated that approximately 25 clam vessels, 6 offshore lobster

boats and 4 red crab boats regularly use Ocean City's commercial fishing

harbor. Without further investigation there is no estimate of the number of

permanently based or transient finfishing v6ssels using the port.

In conclusion if Ocean City's fisheries are to grow and prosper, the

problems and opportunities represented by the fishery and the port must be

more clearly delineated and recognized to further encourage local initiative.

Z-1

APPENDIX TWO
MARYLAND SURVEY INTERVIEWS

Al Woodfield Hubbard's Pier and Seafood Inc.
Mrs. Don Edwards Edward's Seafoods Rock Hall
Sam Turner Bellvue Seafood Rock Hall
Bellvue

Jack Coulbourne Coulbourne & Era
Secretary
Spark Woodland Dorchester Crab Co. Wingate
Hank Pazetti Byrds Inc. Crisfield

Burley Price George A. Christy and Son
Crisfield

Jim Whalley Boat ".Missy L"
Ocean City
C..K. Dukes H. D. Dukes Girdletree Landing

W. R. Woodfield Woodfield Fish & Oyster
Galesville

Paul Thompson Thompson's
Bill Bray NMFS Breton Bay
Oxford

Doug Ritchie Marine Advisory Agent
Prince Frederick

Mike Paprella Maryland State Seafood Lab.
Larry Simns Watermen's Association
Annapolis

Maryland Shellfish Advisory Committee Baltimore, Maryland

2-2

Doug Ritchie Marine Advisory Agent
Prince Frederick

Don Webster Marine Advisory Agent
Cambridge

William Harris W, H. Harris Seafood
Grasonville

William R. Prier Maryland Seafood Producers

Robert Rubleman Fisheries Administration

Ben Florence Fisheries Administration

Nick Carter Fisheries Ada-inistration

Clayton Tolley Merideth and Merideth, Inc.
Wingate

Captain Parks Former Skipjack Skipper
Tilghman Island

Loren Stirling Milbourne Oyster Co.
Crisfield

Buck Garvin Harrison Oyster Co.
Tilghman

George Olds Old Salt Seafood Co.
Easton, Maryland

Larry Ames Maryland Watermen's Association
President

Nick Carter Fisheries Administration
Wye Mills

Robert Norris Potomac River Fisheries Commission

A. C. Carpenter Potomac River Fisheries Commission

William Sieling Department of National. Resources

Gordon Hallock Department of Economic & Com-
munity Development

Jack Larkin Larkins Seafood
Baltimore

BIBLIOGRAPHY*

1. An Analysis Future Demand, Supplies, Prices and Needs for Fishery
Resources of the Chesapeake Bay, Marasco, University of Maryland,
1975, 65 pgs.
(Analysis of Future Demand)

2. An Analysis of the Transportation of Maryland Seafood from 50 Maryland
Finns., Maryland Department of Economic and Community Development
Seafood Marketing Authority, 1976, 49 pgs.
(Analysis of Transportation of Maryland Seafood)

3. Aquatic Resource Areas, Bundy, Maryland Department of Natural Resources,
1977, 72 pgs.
(Aquatic Resource Areas)

4.* Baltimore Metropolitan Coastal Area StuL, Regional Task Force, Office
of Coastal Zone Management/HUD, 1976, 156 @gs.
(Baltimore Metropolitan Coastal Area Study

5. Beautiful Swimmers, Warner, Penguin Books, New York, 1976, 304 pgs.
(Beautiful Swimmers)

6. The Biological and Economic Aspects of Oyster Propagation in Maryland,
Campbell and Forste, Maryland Department of Natural Resources,
1978, 33 pgs.
(Oyster Propagation in Maryland)

7. Chesapeake Bay Future Conditions Report Vols. 9 & 13, Corps of Engineers,
Baltimore District, Department of the Army, 1973.
(Chesapeake Bay Future Conditions)

8. The Chesapeake Bay in Maryland: An Atlas of Natural Resources, Lipson,
John Hopkihs Press, Baltimore, 1973, 56 pgs.
(Chesapeake Bay in Maryland)

9. Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc., Interim Progress Report Vols. I,
II, III, National Science FoundatTon. 1-974.
(Chesapeake Research Consortium Progress Reports)
10. Commercial Fisheries News (publication), Maryland Department of Natural
Resources.
(Commercial Fisheries News, Maryland)

*Phrases in parentheses refer to text annotation reference.

11. The Commercial Fishing and Seafood Processing Industries of the Chesa-
peake Bay Area, Suttor, Corrigan, Wuhrman, University of MarylanT,
1968.
(Commercial Fishing and Processing Industries, Chesapeake Bay Area)

12. Comprehensive Plan Cecil County, Stottler, Stagg & Associates, Maryland
Department of State Planning, 1914.
(Cecil County Plan)

13. The Comprehensive Plan for Kent County, Harlan, Bartholomew & Associates,
County Commissioners of Rent County, 1974, 92 pgs.
(Kent County Plan)

14. A Comprehensive Plan for St. Mary's County, Angelos A. Demetriou, AIA,
Office of County Commissioners, Somerset County, 1975.
(Somerset County Plan)

15-. E2merehensive Plan for Somerset County, Maryland, Stottler, Stagg &
Associates, Board of County Commissioners, Somerset County, 1975.
(Somerset County Plan)

16. Comprehensive Plan. Talbot County Maryland, Urban Pathfinders, Inc.,
Talbot County Planning Commission, 1973, 86 pgs.
(Talbot County Plan)

17. Crab Packers and Shippers, Annotated Code of Maryland, Department of
Natural Resources, Licensing and Consumer Services.
(Annotated Code of Maryland Crab Packers and Shippers).

18. An Economic Development Plan for Maryland: A Perspective Office of
Development Planning, Maryland Department of Economic and Community
Development, 1975, 22 pgs.
(Economic Plan for Maryland)

19. Factors Affecting Demand for Oysters, Sidney Hollander Associations,
Maryland Department of Economic and Community Development, 1974,
51 pas.
(Factors Affecting Demand for Oysters)

20. Final Report, Maryland Oyster Resource Expansion Task Force, Maryland
State gislature Task Force, 1978, 15 pgs.
(Maryland Oyster Resource Expansion Task Force, Final Report)

21. Fishery Resources of the Patuxent River System, Hollis, Maryland Depart-
M
ment of Chesapeake Bay Affairs, 967, 12 pgs.
(Fishery Resources of the Patuxent River System)

22. Follow the Water, Lang, John F. Blair, Winston-Salem, 1961.
(Follow the Water)

23. Groundfish Resource Assessment of Choptank, Nanticoke, and Wicomico
Rivers from December 1973 to October 1974, Ritchie, University of
Maryland, 1975, 152 pgs.
(Groundfish Resource Assessment)
24. Growth Prospects for the qyster Industry in Manyland, Schult, Maryland
Department of Economic and Community Development, 1976, 76 pgs.
(Growth Prospects for the Oyster Industry in Maryland)

25. Guide for Cruising Maryland Waters 1978-79, Mathews, Jr., Maryland
Department,of NatuFal Re-sources, 1978, 60 pgs.
(Guide for Cruising Maryland Waters)

26. How to Catch a Crab, Poppke, Stein and Day, New York, 1977, 124 pgs.
- T-How to Catch a Crab)

27. Industrial Contributions to the Economy of the Southern Delmarva
Peninsula 1972, Bahn, Hardic, Maryland Department of Agricultural
and Extension Education, 1972, 32 pgs.
(Economy of the Southern Delmarva Pen insula)

28. Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List, Food and Drug Administra-
tion, 1977-8-, -27 pgs.
(Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List)

29. Laws Concerning the Commercial Harvesting of Finfish Department of
National Resources, 1978.
(Laws Concerning Commercial Harvesting of Finfish)

30. Laws Concerning the Commercial Harvesting of Shellfish, Department of
Natu Resources, 1978.
(Laws Concerning Commercial Harvesting of Shellfish)

31. A Literature Review of the Effects of Turbidity and Siltation on Aquatic
Life Hollis, Boone, DeRose, Murphy, Department of Chesapeake Bay
Affairs, 1964, 20 pgs.
(Affects of Turbidity and Siltation on Aquatic Life)

32. The Maryland Blue Crab, Sieling, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
(The Maryland Blue Crab)
33. 1976 Maryland Chesapeake Bay Sport FishinS Survey, Speir, Weinrich,
Early, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 1977, 99 pgs.
(Sport Fishing Survey)

34. Maryland Coastal Zone Management Program, Maryland Department of Natural
Resources, 1977, 384 pgs.
(Maryland Coastal Zone Program)

35. Maryland Preliminary Transportation Plan, Maryland Department of Trans-
portation, 1976, 40 pgs.
(Maryland Preliminary Transportation Plan)

36. A Method for Applying Research to Environmental Planning and Management:
T7ase Stuq of Issues Im ortant to the Chesapeake Bay R The
Center of the Environment Man Inc., National Science ation,
1973, 61 pgs.
(Applying Research to Environmental Planning and Management)

37. A Method for Predicting Broad Stock Requirements for Oyster Producing_
rt@pplication to the Manokin River Carter, Johns Hopkin
Areas wi S'
5-iversity, 1967.
(Predicting Stock Requirements for Oyster Producing Areas)

38. The Mobility of Oystermen and its Impact on the Management of the Mary-
land and Chesapeake Oyster Industry (unpublished), Lewis, Strand,
Sea Grant/University of Maryland, 30 pgs.
(Mobility of Oystermen)

39. The Maryland Oyster, Sieling, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
(The Maryland Oyster)

40. The Magland Soft Clam, Sieling, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
(The Maryland @o7t Clam)

41. The Oystermen of the Chesapeake, de Gast, International Marine Publishing
Company, Camden, Me._, 1970, 222 pgs.
(Oystermen of the Chesapeake)

42. Patuxent Watershed Advisory Committee Report, Advisory Committee, 1977.
T-Patuxent Watershed Report)

43. Plans for Management of the Fisheries of the Tidal Potomac River, Davis,
Haven, Drobeck, Virginia InstiEute of Marine Science, Tn@iversity
of Maryland, 1976, 38 pgs.
(Plans for Management of Fisheries, Tidal Potomac)

44. The Potomac Estuary Biological Resources I Mason, Flyn, Interstate
Commission on the Potomac River Basin/Maryland Power Plant Siting
Program, 1976, 140 pgs.
(Potomac Estuary Biological Resources)

45. Potomac River Basin DirectoU, Interstate Commission on the Potomac
River Basin, 1974.
(Potomac River Basin Directory)

46. Proposed Comp .rehensive Plan, Greenhorne & O'Mara Inc., Charles County
Planning Commission, 1974.
(Charles County Plan)

47. Recreational Boating on the Tidal Waters of Maryland, Roy Mann Associates
Inc., Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 1976, 197 pgs.
(Recreational Boating, Maryland)

48. Regulations: Potomac River Commission 1978, Potomac River Fisheries
Commission, 1978, 52 pgs.
(Potomac River Commission Regulations)

49. Striped Bass in Magland Tidewaters, Mansueti, Hollis, University of
Maryland, 1963, 28 pgs.
(Striped Bass in Maryland Tidewaters)
50. SurveX of Commercial Finfishing Areas in the Upper Chesapeake Bay,
Maryland Waterman's Association, 1978, 136 pgs.
(Survey of Commercial Finfishing Areas)

51. Susquehanna Basin, Hollis, Maryland Department of Chesapeake Bay Affairs,
1965, 11 pgs.
(Susquehanna Basin)

52. The U.S. Regional Oyster Product Flow: 1970, Tinklepaugh, Charbonneau,
Barasco, University of Maryland, 197U-,--14 pgs.
(U.S. Regional Oyster Product Flow)

53. Virginia Landings 1975; Maryland Landings-1975, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 1975, 9 pgs.
(Maryland-Virginia Landings: NMFS)
54. The Waterman's Gazette (publication), Maryland Waterman's Association
Inc., Annapolis.
(Waterman's Gazette)

55. Water Quality Goals for Chesapeake Bay, Citizens Program for the Chesapeake
Bay Inc., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1976, 58 pgs.
(Water Quality Goals for Chesapeake Bay)

56. Wholesale Seafood Marketing Cain, University of Maryland, 1965, 13 pgs.
(Wholesale Seafood Marketing)

57. Water Quality Management Program, URA Planning, 1977.
(Water Quality Management Program)

58. Worcester County Background StudX, Urban Pathfinders Inc., Worcester
County Planning and Zoning Commission, 1974, 175 pgs.
(Worcester County Background Study)

59. Norcester County Comprehensive Plan, Urban Pathfinders Inc., Worcester
County Planning and Zoning Commission, 1975, 120 pgs.
(Worcester County Plan)

60. Natural Oyster Bars (Maps) prepared by the United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey for the Maryland Department of Tidewater Fisheries.
(Natural Oyster Bars)

61. National Fisherman, Camden, Maine, Monthly trade publication for the
Unite-T -States Fishing Ind@Ustry.
(National Fisherman)

62. The gyster Industry of Virginia: Its Status, Problems and Promise VIMS,
Gloucester Point, Virginia, 1978, 1024 pages. Oyster Industry of
Virginia).

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