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





				The 1990 National Shellfish Register
					of Classified Estuarine Waters








					U.S. Department of Commerce
				National Oceantic and Atmospheric Administration
						Natinal Ocean Service





SH365
.A3N5
1991













































































                                                                                                         Cover Photo:
                                                                                  Cultured Blue Mussels, Rhode Island
                                                                                                  by Joseph H. Bailey
                                                                               Copyright  National Geographic Society








                      The 1990 National Shellfish Register
                            of Classified Estuarine Waters




                                         Strategic Assessment Branch
                                 Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment
                                           National Ocean Service
                              National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
                                          6001 Executive Boulevard
                                          Rockville, Maryland 20852




















                                                  July 1991

                                              LIBRARY
                                             N0AA/CCEH
                 FEB 19 1996
                                         1990 HOBSON AVE.
                                         CHAS, SC 29408-2623
SH







                               Project Team                                draft materials were provided by
                                                                           Charles N. Ehler of NOAA, T.C.
                               Dorothy L. Leonard                          Siewicki of NOAA (NMFS), David
                               Eric A. Slaughter                           Dressel of the Food and Drug Adminis-
                                                                           tration, Carin Bisland of the
                               Paul V. Genovese                            Environmental Protection Agencil
                               Sharon L. Adamany                           Donald Steffeck of the U.S. Fish and
                               Christopher G. Clement                      Wildlife Service, and Roy Martin of the
                                                                           National Fisheries Institute.
                               Report Team                                 The 1990 Register was produced in
                               In addition to the Project Team, a          cooperation with the Interagency Task
                               special Report Team was assembled           Force on Shellfish-Growing Waters
                               and managed by Daniel J. Basta, who         which includes NOAA, the Food and
                               also provided editorial guidance.           Drug Administration, Environmental
                               Maureen A. Warren conducted com-            Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and
                               prehensive reviews of all draft material    Wildlife Service.
                               and coordinated production. Davida G.       Special appreciation is extended to the
                               Remer prepared and managed graph-           many State public health, natural
                               ics and tables for the report. Carol M.     resource management, and wildlife
                               Blackwell placed and edited all copy        enforcement officials who provided
                               and graphics, and prepared the              their data and expertise throughout the
                               camera-ready document. John J.              Register process. Their participation
                               McDonough III selected and placed the       made this report possible.
                               photography and helped design the
                               cover. Mitchell J. Katz designed the
                               original layout, conducted the final
                               copy edit, and coordinated printing.
                               The Project Team prepared the
                               original drafts and conducted quality
                               control reviews of all final narrative and
                               data in the report.

                               Acknowledgements

                               This report is a result of the dedication
                               of many individuals in NOAA's Strate-
                               gic Assessment Program. In addition
                               to the Report Team, Donald W. Field,
                               Timothy R. Goodspeed, Thomas J.
                               Culliton, Daniel R. G. Farrow, Anthony
                               S. Pait, and Vernon R. Leeworthy
                               provided supporting information on
                               wetlands, estuaries, population,
                               pollution, and recreation. Reviews of











                             Introduction


                             The 1990 National Shellfish Regis-            by five fisheries management districts.
                             ter of Classified Estuarine Waters            Non-estuarine shellfishing areas
                             (Register) describes declines in              extending seaward to the three-mile
                             estuarine water quality, decreases            limit (offshore areas), account for
                             in the acreage of approved mollus-            about 1.5 million acres and are treated
                             can shellfish-growing waters, and             separately.
                             continuing declines in the Nation's
                             shellfish harvests. Relationships             Register Process. The 1990 Regis-
                             between these declines are dis-               ter is the culmination of five years of
                             cussed. Although declines in any              data collection and analysis. Following
                             given year, and even from 1985 to             the 1985 Register, shellfish-growing
                             1990, are not dramatic, an almost             waters were aggregated by estuary
                             inexorable trend that threatens to            according to NOAA's NEI (NOAA,
                             destroy the harvest of wild or                1985). The classifications of
                             natural shellfish continues through-          shellfishing areas could then be
                             out the Nation's coastal areas.               considered in conjunction with human
                                                                           activities and natural conditions
                             The Register has recorded changes in          across entire watersheds. This
                             the classification of molluscan shell-        expansion of the Register data base
                             fish-growing waters since 1966, when          resulted in a series of regional reports
                             there were nine million acres of              produced between 1988 and 1990
                             estuarine waters classified (Table 2).        that clarified: (1) classifications of
                             Produced every five years, the                shellfishing areas; (2) water quality
                             Register has evolved from a tabular           trends; (3) pollution sources affecting
                             report on classifications to a detailed       classifications; (4) State program
                             analysis supported by an electronic           resources; and (5) trends in landings.
                             data base and mapping system
                             developed by the National Oceanic             The 1990 Register process began in
                             and Atmospheric Administration                February 1990, when NOAA initiated
                             (NOAA).                                       investigations with State shellfish
                                                                           management agencies (Alaska and
                             The 1990 Register covers 3,172                Hawaii were added to the survey and
                             shellfishing areas encompassing 18.7          Pennsylvania was deleted). Data
                             million acres of classified estuarine         were collected on classified areas and
                             and offshore waters in 23 states. The         compiled on 280 NOAA nautical
                             data are aggregated by 122 estuaries          charts. Data also were collected on
                             and sub-estuaries, most of which are          pollution sources, shoreline surveys of
                             identified in NOAA's National Estua-          actual and potential pollution sources,
                             rine Inventory (NEI) (Appendix A).            water quality sampling results, com-
                             The current NEI does not contain data         mercial shellfish landings, program
                             for Alaska and Hawaii. For Alaska,            budgets, and personnel.
                             the data in the Register are organized







                                  The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                  ,Table 1   Classifications for Commercial Shellfish-Growing Waters a

                                  Approved (APP)             Waters may be harvested for direct marketing at all times.

                                  Conditionally              Waters do not meet the criteria for approved waters if subjected
                                    Approved (CON)           to intermittent microbiological pollution, but may be harvested
                                                             when criteria are met.

                                  Restricted (RES)           Waters may be harvested if shellfish are subjected to a suitable
                                                             purification process.

                                  Prohibited (PRO)           No harvest for human consumption at any time.
                                  a. Harvest-limited refers to the sum of shellfish-growing waters that are classified Conditionally
                                     Approved, Prohibited, and Restricted.


                                  The 1990 classified areas were                    public health. The NSSP is a coop-
                                  compared with those for 1985.                     erative program involving states,
                                  Changes in acreage were estimated                 industry, and the Federal government.
                                  and entered into the Register data                Since 1983, it has been administered
                                  base. Newly classified areas including            through the Interstate Shellfish
                                  all areas in Alaska and Hawaii were               Sanitation Conference (ISSC). The
                                  measured with an automated planime-               ISSC was formed to promote shellfish
                                  ter. All chart                                                            sanitation, adopt
                                  data used in the           National Shellfish Sanitation Program          uniform proce-
                                  Register are                                                              dures, and
                                  being digitized to         The NSSP assumes that a relationship           develop compre-
                                  provide precise            exists between pollution from human            hensive guide-
                                  acreages and a             activities, shellfish-growing waters, and      lines to regulate
                                  digital map data           human disease. Pathogens (disease-             the harvesting,
                                  base to replace            causing bacteria or viruses) may enter         processing, and
                                  the manually               waters throuah direct discharges of            shipping of
                                  maintained                 untreated or poorly treated human              shellfish.
                                                             wastes or through nonpoint runoff from
                                  charts. A                  streets, farms, or construction sites.
                                  supplement to              Bivalve molluscs, such as oysters, filter      The NSSP
                                  the 1990 Regis-            large volumes of water, and concentrate        requires each
                                  ter that presents          pollutants and pathogens.                      state to classify
                                  data on each                                                              shellfish -growing
                                  shellfishing area is in preparation and           waters using sanitary surveys that: (1)
                                  will be available from NOAA.                      identify actual or potential pollution
                                                                                    sources; (2) evaluate hydrology and
                                  Classifying Waters to Protect                     meteorology affecting pollutant
                                  Public Health. The National Shellfish             transport; and (3) sample waters for
                                  Sanitation Program (NSSP) classifies              bacterial quality (at least five times
                                  shellfish-growing waters to protect'              annually for each station). Waters are

                                  2







                                                                                                                                          The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                                        classified into four categories de-                                             prohibited waters; there was no
                                                        scribed in Table 1. Table 2 shows                                               correlation between coliform bacteria
                                                        estuarine acres classified since 1966.                                          levels and Vibrio (Blake and Roderick,
                                                                                                                                        1983). Deaths linked to out-of-state
                                                        Public health concerns also focus on                                            shipments suggest that handling and
                                                        changing environmental conditions                                               transport time may affect the pathoge-
                                                        that affect pathogens, density and                                              nicity of the organisms.
                                                        distribution of human pathogens,
                                                        harvest practices, and the increasing                                           Marine Biotoxins. Shellfish-growing
                                                        risks of human disease (FDA, 1990).                                             waters may be affected by blooms of
                                                                                                                                        certain species of dinoflagellates or
                                                        Enteric Diseases. For nearly a                                                  diatoms. Blooms which produce
                                                        century, shellfish have been recog-                                             marine biotoxins can cause a variety
                                                        nized as vehicles of foodborne enteric                                          of human illnesses. On the North
                                                        disease. Although the implementation                                            Atlantic Coast, paralytic shellfish
                                                        of the NSSP in 1925 led to the control                                          poisoning (PSP) is caused by
                                                        of bacterial pathogens such as                                                  Alexandrium tamarense, which
                                                        cholera and typhoid fever, the occur-
                                                        rence of shellfish-associated viral                                             Table 2. Classified Estuarine Acres
                                                        diseases (10,384 cases through 1989)                                                                  (x 1, 000),          1966-1990
                                                        has increased (G. Richards, Pers.
                                                        Comm.). For example, since 1961                                                 State                 1966  1971           1974  1980  1985         1990
                                                        almost 1,400 cases of oyster- and                                               Maine                 352   1,045          1,045 1,045 1,034        902
                                                        clam-associated hepatitis A have                                                New Hampshire            0         0       0     11          13     13
                                                        been documented nationally.                                                     Massachusetts         39       344         344   304     312        406
                                                                                                                                        Rhode Island          96       127         127   128     135        135
                                                        Vibrio Bacteria. Vibrios are a group of                                         Connecticut           63       318         318   392     425        357
                                                        bacteria found naturally in saline                                              New York              551      632         632   1,021 1,096        1,077
                                                                                                                                        New Jersey            520      395         395   395     392        403
                                                        coastal waters. Recent outbreaks                                                Delaware              214      233         233   230     231        231
                                                        (334 cases between 1973 and 1987)                                               Maryland              1,198 1,454          1,318 1,424 1,375        1,375
                                                        have been associated with Vibrio                                                Virginia              1,412 1,443          1,444 1,498 1,5715       1,575
                                                        cholerae, V. vulnificus, and                                                    North Carolina        973   1,991          1,990 2,126 2,245        2,286
                                                        V. parahaemolyticus. Ingestion of                                               South Carolina        183      275         276   2-79    279        279
                                                        Vibrio can cause gastroenteritis and                                            Georgia               141      204         204   204     168        168
                                                        even death, particularly in compro-                                             Florida               1,250 1,768          1,767 930     961        1,206
                                                        mised patients. In 1988, 43 cases of                                            Alabama               405      356         356   373     354        371
                                                        V. vulnificus were reported, resulting                                          Mississippi           122 1(lS             106   390     433        434
                                                        in 18 deaths nationwide (Centers for                                            Louisiana             1,011 1,763          2,468 1,781 3,358        3,394
                                                        Disease Control, 1989). However,                                                Texas                 486   1,109          1,109 1,136 1,851        1,897
                                                                                                                                        California               7     278         278   274     110        129
                                                        only 27 cases and twelve deaths were                                            Oregon                   6     29          28    39          39     36
                                                        linked to shellfish consumption (S.                                             Washington            44       224         223   244     243        262
                                                        Rippey, Pers. Comm.). In                                                        Alaska                ND       ND          ND    ND          0      198
                                                        Apalachicola Bay (FL), V. cholerae                                              Hawaii                ND       ND ND ND                      0      Is
                                                        have been found in approved and                                                 Total                 9,071 14,097 14,662        14,223 16,626      17,152


                                                                                                                                                                                                            3




















                                                                                                                                                                                               -n
                                                                                                                                                                                                         Cb

                           Washington                                         Approved                                                                                         Maine                     Q)
                                                                                                                                             North          New
                                                                                                                                                      ,C    Hampshire
                                                                              Conditional                                                    Atlant

                                                                              Restricted                                                             Massachusetts
                            Oregon
                                                                                                                                                                                               Sb
                                                                              Prohibited                                                                                                       5         CD


                                                                                                                                           Now York
                                                                              Unclassified                                                                                                               zr

                                                                        Classification shown contitutes
                                    Pacific                             greatest percentage of acreage.                               Pennsylvania                 Rhode Island
                                                                        Data by estuary not available for                                                         Connecticut
                                                                        Alaska and Hawaii.
                                                                                                                           Marylan                        New Jersey
                                                                                                                                                        Delaware Middle
                             California                                                                                          Virginia                           Atlantic
                                                                                                                 South                                                                         zz
                                                                                                                 Carolina            North
                                                                       Gulf of Mexico                                                Carolin
                                                                                                        Mississippi
                                                                                                                                                                                               G)
                                                                                                                         Georgia                                                               8
                                                                                                          Alabama
                                                                    Texas                                                                      South
                                                                                                                                               Atlantic


                                                                                                                            orida
                                                                                            Louisiana                                                                                          CA






                                                                                                                                                                                                 A







                                                                                         The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                    produces the neurotoxin saxitoxin.                   Table 3. Distribution of Classified
                                    Maine was the first state in the Nation                        Estuarine fttiers, 1985
                                    to monitor for paralytic shellfish                             and 1990
                                    poisoning. As a result, some of the
                                    State's productive shellfish-growing                                      Percent Classified
                                    waters have been closed for most
                                    years since 1958. In the Pacific
                                    region, the main toxic species causing
                                    PSP is Protogonyalaux catenella.                     Region  85   90  85  901 85 90 85        90
                                    Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP)                 North
                                    may result from a bloom of the                       Atlantic 87  69  10,29     1  1          2 1
                                    dinoflagellate Ptychodiscus brevis.                  Middle
                                                                                         Atlantic 82  79  11: 13    3  4          44
                                    Restricted to the west coast of Florida
                                                                                         South
                                    until the late 1980s, P. brevis recently             Atlantic 75  71  22, 21    3  4 <1       4
                                    caused blooms in Texas and North                     Gulf of
                                    and South Carolina, and all four states              Mexico  54   48  24  34    17 16         61
                                    have developed monitoring and assay                  Pacific Q    ï¿½3 140  31,18    111 1 5 1
                                    programs at considerable cost.                       Total   69   631 19: 261 9    9          43
                                    Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP),
                                    caused by acid released from the
                                    diatom Nitzschia pungens has re-                     of biotoxin risks, and may ignore
                                    cently been identified in mussels from               warnings if waters are not discolored.
                                    Canadian waters. The disease, which                  Accordingly, the majority of PSP
                                    has recently become a concern in the                 cases in the United States result from
                                    North Atlantic region, causes both                   the recreational harvest of clams and
                                    gastrointestinal and neurological                    mussels (Nishitani, 1988).
                                    .disorders, and is assayed using high
                                    performance liquid chromatography.                   National Overview
                                    Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP),
                                    caused by several species of                         Information collected on the status of
                                    Dinophysis, has been identified in                   3,172 individual shellfish-growing
                                    Japan, Europe, and Canada. Be-                       areas in the U.S. is presented for five
                                    cause the symptoms of DSP are
                                    easily confused with those of other
                                    enteric diseases, U.S. cases may                     Table 4. Classified Off'shore Acres
                                    have gone unreported.                                          (X1_,000),_1990

                                                                                                                                  Harvest-
                                    Through the use of NSSP marine                       state                Approved            Limited
                                    biotoxin guidelines which require                    Maine                      884           0
                                    monitoring and tissue assay, coastal
                                    states have generally succeeded               in     Massachusetts              349           45
                                    eliminating toxic shellfish from com-                New Jersey                 206           59
                                    mercial distribution. However, recre-                California                 <1            <1
                                    ational harvesters are often unaware
                                                                                         Total                  1,440             104

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                                             The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                             Table S. Pollution Sources Affecting Harvest-Limited Acreage, 1990 ab

                                                                               North                Middle            South           Gulf of              Pacif ic      Nationwide
                                                                               Atlantic             Atlantic          Atlantic        Mexico
                                                                          Acres         %           Acres %       Acres        %    Acres      % Acres             %     Acres        %


                                             Point Sources

                                             Sewage Treat Plants            238         67          641      57   374          44     973      27          75      25    2,307        37

                                             Combined Sewers                   21       6           224      20       0        0      211      6           0       0       457        7

                                             Direct Discharge                  1        <1          84       7        5        1      920      25          6       2     1,015        16
                                             Industry                          21       7           223      20   180          21     522      14       129        42    1,077        17

                                             Nonpoint Sources
                                             Septic Systems                    91       26          123      11   288          34   1,763      48          57      19    2,322        37
                                             Urban Runoff                      75       23          655      58   290          34   1,276      35       110        36    2,412        38

                                             Agricultural Runoff               5        3           130      12   233          28     301      8           41      13      718        11

                                             Wildlife                          19       7           112      10   306          36   1,115      30          39      13    1,597        25
                                             Boats                             55       17          $53      31   146          17     507      14          47      15    1,113        18

                                             Upstrearn Sources
                                             Sewage Treat Plants               2        1           104      9        9        1    1,174      32          45      16    1,334        21

                                             Combined Sewers                   0        0           5        <1       0        0      134      4           0       0           0      2

                                             Urban Runoff                      3        1           72       6        8        1      793      22          43      14      918        15

                                             Agricultural Runoff               0        0           1        <1       0        0      435      12          0       0       436        7

                                             Wildlife                          0        0           28       2        35       4      210      6           0       0       273        4
                                             a. Acres are times 1,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in region.
                                             b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages shown above
                                             cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.



                                            coastal regions, 23 states, 122                                           Classified Acreage. Of the 17.2
                                            estuaries, and in Alaska, five fisheries                                  million acres of estuarine waters that
                                            management areas (Figure 1). The                                          were classified for harvest as of
                                            total acreage of all estuarine growing                                    January 1, 1990, 63 percent were
                                            areas is approximately 21.1 million                                       approved for harvest and 37 percent
                                            acres; 81 percent of these (17.2                                          were harvest-limited (Table 3). Of the
                                            million acres) are classified for har-                                    harvest-limited acreage, about nine
                                            vest. Information also is presented on                                    percent was conditionally approved.
                                            an additional 1.5 million acres of
                                            classified offshore waters (from shore                                    Four states have begun to classify
                                            to the three-mile limit). Classifications                                 offshore waters, 93 percent of which
                                            for states and estuaries are provided                                     are approved. Harvest-limited acre-
                                            in Appendices B and C.                                                    age (seven percent) in these areas is
                                                                                                                      primarily a result of management


                                            6







                                                                                         The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                   closures due to insufficient State                   NSSP regulations requiring current
                                   resources for monitoring (Table 4).                  and complete sanitary surveys have
                                                                                        not been met. Because State officials
                                   Although many states do not classify                 have promoted increased monitoring
                                   offshore waters, in 1989, NOAA's                     activities, the amount of harvest-
                                   National Marine Fisheries Service                    limited waters has increased nation-
                                   (NMFS) reported nationwide landings                  ally. Many states have developed
                                   of over 118 million pounds of mollus-                conditional management plans for
                                   can shellfish caught within zero to                  areas with predictable water quality
                                   three miles offshore (NMFS, 1990).                   fluctuations. Implementing such plans
                                   Given the pollution discharges such                  often requires additional resources at
                                   as sewage outfalls, into these waters,               a time when many states are reducing
                                   more offshore areas are likely to be                 their budgets. As the amount of
                                   classified as harvest-limited.                       harvestable area is reduced, industrial
                                                                                        and political pressure may force states
                                   During the data collection process for               to re-open harvest areas which
                                   the 1985 and 1990 Registers, the                     require close surveillance.
                                   reasons an area
                                   was classified as                        Effects of Pollution                  Although man-
                                   harvest-limited            The effect of a pollution source on shell-          agement capa-
                                   were entered               fish-growing waters depends on the                  bilities vary
                                   directly on the            amount of coliform bacteria discharged,             greatly from
                                   charts and later           the dilution and dispersion factors, flushing       state to state,
                                   analyzed. State            ability related to tides and circulation, size      about half are
                                   personnel were             of the growing area, and the presence of            able to survey
                                   interviewed to             other pollution sources.                            and sample most
                                   determine                                                                      areas with
                                   whether classification changes                       harvest potential while the rest leave
                                   between 1985 and 1989 were directly                  at least some productive waters
                                   related to changes in water quality                  closed because of inadequate man-
                                   (less than two percent), or were a                   agement resources. Several states
                                   result of management decisions (over                 survey and sample an area only if
                                   98 percent). Water quality changes                   there are active leases or after a lease
                                   were supported by sanitary surveys                   application is received.
                                   that identify pollution sources, suc-
                                   cessful clean-up efforts, and sampling               Pollution Sources Affecting Har-
                                   results.                                             vest. Pollution sources affecting an
                                                                                        area were identified primarily through
                                   Management decisions fall into three                 sanitary surveys conducted by State
                                   major categories: 1) those based on                  agencies. Only sources that signifi-
                                   increased monitoring; 2) those based                 cantly affect the classification of
                                   on political judgements; and 3) a                    shellfish-growing areas were identi-
                                   default position, where areas are                    fied. A pollution source may be
                                   classified as prohibited because                     identified in a sanitary survey despite


                                                                                                                                       7








                                                     The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                                         Figure 2. Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected Species, 1985-1989


                                                                                                                                 


                                                     a small contribution of coliform                                               acreage in each estuary affected by
                                                     bacteria. In the case of some                                                  each pollution source category is
                                                     sources, additional shellfishing areas                                         shown in Appendix D.
                                                     may be classified as buffer or safety
                                                     zones, anticipating plant closures or                                          The effect of coastal development on
                                                     bypasses, and in response to sea-                                              shellfish-growing areas can be seen
                                                     sonal increases in boating activity.                                           by the increasing acreage adversely
                                                     Table 5 shows the acres and percent                                            affected by development-related
                                                     of harvest-limited acreage in each                                             pollution sources from 1985 to 1990.
                                                     region adversely affected by 14                                                For example, the largest increases are
                                                     pollution source categories. The                                               attributed to urban runoff, increasing
                                                     acreage and percent of harvest-limited                                         from 23 to 38 percent of harvest-

                                                     8








                                                                             The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                               limited waters. The acreage ad-              32 million pounds of oysters annually
                               versely affected by septic systems           until about 1959 when a sharp decline
                               increased from 22 percent to 37              began. By 1989, only four million
                               percent. Pollution from septic sys-          pounds were harvested from the Bay,
                               tems is associated with continuing           and in 1990 this dropped further to 3.7
                               growth in tourism and vacation home          million pounds.
                               development. Also indicative of
                               accelerating pressures from coastal          Even with an increase in aquaculture,
                               recreation is the increase in waters         the American shellfishing industry
                               adversely affected by boating, up from       seems no longer able to meet the
                               11 to 18 percent.                            Nation's demand for shellfish prod-
                                                                            ucts. Oyster imports increased from
                               Recent Trends in Landings. Figure            21 million pounds in 1970 to 46 million
                               2 shows landings   between 1985 and          pounds in 1988, and other species
                               1989 for the four major species              show similar trends (Virginia Sea
                               harvested in each region. Data by            Grant College Program, 1990).
                               state are presented in Appendix E.       In  Despite price increases, the actual
                               all regions, commercial harvests             value of all U.S. landings of oysters,
                               declined. By the end of 1990, Gulf of        clams, and scallops has decreased (in
                               Mexico oyster landings fell to 10.6          constant dollars) from $368 million in
                               million pounds, making the Pacific           1985 to $360 million in 1989 (National
                               region the leading producer at 10.8          Marine Fisheries Service, 1985;
                               million pounds.                              National Marine Fisheries Service,
                                                                            1990).
                               A notable exception to declines is the
                               increase in landings of scallops (non-       Recreational Harvest. In 1985, about
                               estuarine) along the Atlantic Coast.         four million adults participated in
                               This increase generally is attributed to     recreational shellfishing for crusta-
                               declines in estuarine abundance              ceans and mollusks nationwide
                               which has forced many fishermen to           (NOAA, 1991 a). This added up to
                               harvest offshore areas, and to recent        over 28 million person-days of recre-
                               fishing agreements between the U.S.          ational shellfishing activities. Though
                               and Canada. Pacific oyster landings          data are not available on landings,
                               have also increased slightly as a            some states estimated that recre-
                               result of successful aquaculture.            ational landings were higher than
                                                                            commercial landings. Over one-fifth
                               Commercial Harvest. Over the last            of the fish and shellfish consumed
                               three decades, commercial stocks of          nationwide is derived from recre-
                               wild estuarine shellfish have continued      ational or subsistence fishing (Na-
                               to decline nationwide despite restora-       tional Academy of Sciences, 1991).
                               tion efforts such as oyster reef replen-     This high level of participation con-
                               ishment, hatchery operations, and            cerns State and Federal officials
                               selective breeding. For example,             because they do not have the re-
                               Chesapeake Bay produced more than            sources to monitor recreational fishing
                                                                            waters adequately.
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                                         The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                         Major Causes of Declines in Land-                                have the potential for aquaculture,
                                         ings. Despite long-standing evidence                             especially on the Pacific Coast) were
                                         supporting greater restraint, over-                              closed or downgraded due to bacterial
                                         harvest remains a significant cause of                           levels or the lack of supporting
                                         decline in natural shellfish stocks                              sampling data. In addition, shellfish
                                         (Kennedy, 1983). Disease and                                     continue to be routinely stressed by
                                         pollution are also major concerns                                low oxygen events caused by nutrient
                                         among natural harvesters and aquac-                              inputs from urban and rural sources
                                         ulturists. For example, after MSX and                            (Chesapeake Executive Council,
                                         Dermo reduced oyster populations in                              1989). Chemical contaminants cause
                                         Chesapeake Bay, traditional seed                                 direct damage to shellfish, including
                                         beds in the James and Choptank                                   death and reduced recruitment
                                         rivers were opened. This placed the                              (Bender and Huggett, 1988). Im-
                                         remaining harvestable population at                              proved shellfish management and
                                         risk of being entirely eliminated                                replenishment programs are not likely
                                         (Hargis and Haven, 1988).                                        to overcome these problems, and
                                                                                                          aquaculturists may not be able to use
                                         Disease. Beginning in the 1950s, the
                                         parasitic diseases MSX and Dermo                                 Table 6. Status of Shellfish
                                         attacked oyster populations along the                                           Management Programs,
                                         Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Since 1957,                                           1990a
                                         many significant mortalities have                                State             Areas      Acres      Acres       Acres/
                                         occurred, especially during periods of                                          Managed Classified Sampled Sampling
                                         drought and high salinity. Entire                                                           (X1,000)     (%)         Station
                                         populations have been wiped out in                               Maine               285        902       90         714
                                         several estuaries. There has been                                New Hampshire        30          14      90         481
                                         some success in producing MSX-                                   Massachusetts       371        307      100         3,474
                                                                                                          Rhode Island         78        136      100         567
                                         resistant strains through selective                              Connecticut         131        358      100         888
                                         breeding, but these strains were not                             New York            166      1,077       85         718
                                         resistant to Dermo in Chesapeake                                 New Jersey          251        403      100         167
                                         Bay (Ford, pers. comm.). In recent
                                                                                                          Delaware             39        231       25         1,686
                                         studies of shellfish mortality, viruses                          Maryland            226      1,375      100         1,937
                                         have also been found as causative                                Virginia            269      1,575      100         788
                                         agents (Comps, 1988). Preliminary                                North Carolina      232      2,287      100         1,610
                                         findings suggest that the ability of                             South Carolina       86,       279      100         775
                                         shellfish to withstand such infections                           Georgia              44        169      100         740
                                         is compromised by environmental                                  Florida             298      1,206      100         969
                                         pollutant stresses (Anderson, 1988).                             Alabama              10        371      100         4,818
                                                                                                          Mississippi          38        434      100         3,122
                                                                                                          Louisiana           180      3,394       80         4,243
                                         Pollution. Harvest areas are classified                          Texas                96      1,898       90         2,751
                                         as approved if pollution levels are                              California          112        130          5       2,150
                                         below minimum coliform standards.                                Oregon               4  -3       36      so         $67
                                         Many states reported that areas                                  Washington          139        262      100         33
                                         containing harvestable stock (or which                           Total             3,124     16,844       92         1,571
                                                                                                          a. Estuarine shellfish-growing waters only.

                                         10








                                                                                The 1990 National Shellfish Register


                                the natural waters directly without           Conditionally approved areas are
                                significant improvements in overall           often the most productive, and closing
                                estuarine water quality (Costagna,            such areas typically reduces landings.
                                1987).                                        The 11 states which had no budget
                                                                              increase between 1985 and 1990
                                State Programs                                (Appendix F) manage about 45
                                                                              percent of the Nation's approved and
                                The data compiled in the Register are         conditionally approved acreage, and
                                primarily a synthesis of the information      also produce about 45 percent of the
                                and knowledge accumulated on an               Nation's total value of shellfish har-
                                almost daily basis by State shellfish         vest,
                                management agencies. Conse-                   Each year since 1985 the Interstate
                                quently, the quality of data presented        Shellfish Sanitation Conference has
                                is directly related to the resources          expanded the NSSP regulatory
                                available to conduct shellfish manage-        guidelines that define the responsibili-
                                ment responsibilities. Since State            ties of State shellfish management
                                resources vary, the availability and          programs. In addition, the Congress
                                detail of shellfish-related information       is considering mandatory seafood
                                varies. For example, sampling station         inspection requirements. Given
                                density ranges from just 33 acres per         budget trends in State shellfish
                                station in Washington to 5,288 acres          programs since 1985, many states
                                per station in Louisiana. Table 6             may not have adequate resources to
                                shows how shellfish-producing states          keep up with these expanding regula-
                                compare in acres managed and                  tory demands. This could lead to
                                survey and sampling activities.               further administrative reductions in
                                Appendix F provides data on budgets           approved and conditionally approved
                                and sampling stations.                        harvesting areas.
                                Shellfish-growing waters classified as
                                conditionally approved require the
                                most management resources. These
                                areas are opened or closed on the
                                basis of rainfall or river stage estab-
                                lished in a current FDA-certified plan.
                                Plans for conditionally approved areas
                                must be updated and supported by
                                extensive sampling. Areas classified
                                as approved do not require a manage-
                                ment plan but do require sampling.
                                State budget shortfalls usually lead
                                first to a curtailment of field sampling
                                and then to administrative down-
                                grades in many conditionally approved
                                (or even approved) areas.












                          North Atlantic

                         Figure 3. Classified Shellfish-Growing Waters, 1990










                                                                       Maine
















                             New
                             Hampshire











                                                                    Estuarine Drainage
                                                              El Area Boundary
                                                                    Classified Shellfish Growing
                                Massachusetts                       Waters (461 Areas)







                        12









                                                                                                          North Atlantic


                                In the North Atlantic region, 1. 1               Classified Shellfish-Growing
                                million acres of estuarine waters                Waters, 1985-1990. Approved
                                were classified for shellfish harvest            estuarine shellfish -growing waters
                                in 1990 (Figure 3). This region                  declined from 88 to 69 percent of
                                experienced the largest decrease in              classified estuarine waters between
                                percentage of approved estuarine                 1985 and 1990. Over 352,000 acres
                                shel/fish-growing waters nation-                 in the region are now classified as
                                wide, from 88 percent in 1985 to 69              harvest-limited. In addition, a net of
                                percent in 1990. In addition, Maine              10,000 non-productive acres were
                                classified over 884,000 acres                    removed from the Register data base.
                                offshore, all approved, and Massa-               Decline& in approved waters occurred
                                chusetts classified over 394,000                 in Maine and Massachusetts, and
                                acres offshore, of which 349,000                 resulted in 219,000 acres being
                                were approved.                                   downgraded to harvest-limited classifi-
                                                                                 cations. However, nearly 1.3 million
                                Estuarine Shellfish-Growing Wa-                  approved acres were added offshore.
                                ters. The North Atlantic region                  Table 7 shows classifications by state
                                extends from the U.S.-Canada border              for 1985 and 1990.
                                in Maine to the tip of Cape Cod in
                                Massachusetts. Estuaries in the                  Eight of the 15 estuaries in the region
                                region are small, deep, and subject to           had downgrades in classification of
                                strong tidal forces. There are only              shellfish-growing waters, while five
                                about 1,200 square miles of coastal              had upgrades. Approved acreage
                                wetlands in the region (NOAA,                    outside estuaries in NOAA's NEI
                                1991 b). Consequently, habitat for               increased by 8,000 acres. However,
                                intertidal molluscan shellfish is limited        downgrades occurred in
                                while habitat for subtidal species such          Passamaquoddy, Englishman,
                                as scallops is excellent. The estua-
                                rine water surface areas range from
                                six square miles for the Merrimack               Table 7. Distribution of North Atlantic
                                River to 548 square miles for Cape                        Classified Estuarine Waters,
                                Cod Bay. Five of the drainage basins                      1985 and 1990
                                that most directly affect the quality of
                                the region's shellfish-growing waters                               Percent Classified
                                are dominated by metropolitan areas;
                                the rest are largely rural, agricultural
                                and forested (NOAA, 1990).
                                Penobscot Bay has the most ap-                   State  85 90   85  90 85   90 85   90
                                proved shellfish-growing waters,
                                215,000 acres, followed by Casco                 ME     90  78    8 22    1   1   1 >1
                                Bay, with 113,000 acres. Appendix C              NH     34  34  55  15    0   0  11 52
                                identifies the estuaries in the region
                                and summarizes the status of shell-              MA     70  36  25  62 <1     1   5    1
                                fish-growing waters in each.
                                                                                 Total  88  69  10. 29 i 1

                                                                                                                        13









                                              North Atlantic


                                              Table 8.        North Atla       Irific  Pollut      ion          i      management decisions based on
                                                              Sources Affecting Harvest-                               increased sanitary survey and sam-
                                                              LimitedAcreage, 1990ab                                   pling activities. Significant water
                                                                                                                       quality declines occurred in Hampton,
                                              Sources                        Maine       New          Massa-           Little, and Rye harbors, and Cape
                                                                                     Hampshire chusetts ,
                                                                        Acres %       Acres %      Acres %:            Cod Bay, and significant upgrades
                                              Point Sources                                                            occurred in the Winnicut, Oyster, and
                                              Sewage Treat Plants 115             57     9 loo 120 85                  Bellamy rivers, and Little Bay.
                                              Combined Sewers                0    0      1         11 21        15     Pollution Sources Affecting Shell-
                                              Direct Discharge               0    0      0         0      1     1      fish-Growing Waters. The pollution
                                              Industry                       11   5      4         44     9     6      sources affecting North Atlantic
                                              Nonpoint Sources                                                         shellfish-growing waters reflect the
                                                                                                                       region's high population density in
                                              Septic Systems                 82  40      2         22     7     5,     areas such as Boston Bay, in contrast
                                              Urban Runoff                   24   12     6         67 50        36     to low population density in areas
                                              Agricultural Runoff            0    0      6         67     5     4      such as Passamaquoddy Bay. Table
                                              Wildlife                       0    0      6         67 19        14     8 shows the major categories of
                                                                                                                       pollution sources affecting the har-
                                              Boats                          17   8      5         56 38        22     vest-limited waters in the North
                                              Upstream Sources                                                         Atlantic region. Data on pollution
                                              Sewage Treat Plants            0    0      0         0      2     1      sources by estuary are provided in
                                              Combined Sewer                 0    0      0         0      0     0      Appendix D.
                                              Urban Runoff                   0    0      0         0      3     2      Sewage treatment plants affect 67
                                              Agricultural Runoff            0    0      0         0      0     0.     percent of harvest-limited areas.
                                              Wildlife                       0    0      0         0      0     0      However, the region has the smallest
                                              a. Acres are times 1,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited            number of point source dischargers,
                                              acreage in state.                                                        about 400. Of these, 59 are found in
                                              b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be                  Great Bay and 69 in Boston Bay. The
                                              affected by more than one source, the percentages
                                              shown above cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.                   metropolitan area of Boston, with a
                                                                                                                       population of over 2.5 million, impacts
                                              Narraguagas, Penobscot, Casco,                                           shellfish-growing waters in both
                                              Saco, Boston, and Cape Cod bays.                                  In     Boston and Massachusetts bays.
                                              seven estuaries, additional acres were                                   Sewage treatment plants affect the
                                              classified. The majority of these were                                   most shellfish-growing waters, fol-
                                              prohibited acres in Penobscot,                                           lowed by septic systems, industry, and
                                              Frenchman, Massachusetts, and                                            urban runoff. In 1988, highly produc-
                                              Cape Cod bays, because most of the                                       tive shellfish-growing waters (approxi-
                                              additional acres were classified as                                      mately $315,000 annual harvest) were
                                              prohibited.                                                              closed in Boston Bay because of
                                                                                                                       major malfunctions in the area's
                                              Most classification changes in Maine                                     overloaded sewage treatment plants.
                                              and Massachusetts were a result of                                       Boston has since begun construction


                                              14









                                                                                                           North Atlantic


                                 of a $6.1 billion plant as a corrective         Canada. Figure 4 shows landings in
                                 measure.                                        millions of pounds of meats for the
                                                                                 principal harvested species for the
                                 In New Hampshire, all harvest-limited           three states in the region.
                                 waters are affected by sewage
                                 treatment plants. However, harvest-             Landings by State. Oyster landings
                                 limited waters are also significantly           have been sporadic in Maine, rising
                                 affected by industry (44 percent) and           from 49,000 pounds in 1985 to
                                 agricultural runoff (67 percent). The           138,000 pounds in 1986, and declin-
                                 effects of these sources have required          ing to 69,000 pounds in 1989. Clam
                                 the State to close or restrict 64               landings declined from 4.5 million
                                 percent of its classified shellfish-            pounds to less than three million
                                 growing waters.                                 pounds. Over-harvesting and the
                                                                                 closing of polluted shellfish-growing
                                 In contrast, pollution from septic              waters have contributed to this
                                 systems affects almost as much                  decline. Maine's scallop harvest
                                 harvest-limited waters (40 percent) in          increased from 813,000 pounds in
                                 Maine as do sewage treatment plants             1985 to 1.7 million pounds in 1989.
                                 (57 percent). Shellf ish-g rowing waters
                                 in all but one of Maine's eight estuar-         The State classified over 884,000
                                 ies are affected by septic effluent. As         acres of offshore waters, and was the
                                 a result, towns have adopted dis-               first to establish a plan for managing
                                 charge ordinances that restrict devel-          episodes of marine biotoxins. . Maine
                                 opment in low-lying coastal areas.              estimates that the closings imposed
                                 Developers in such places must add              under the plan reduce harvest earn-
                                 sand filtration and chlorination to their       ings by about seven million dollars
                                 septic systems. After 1992, any                 annually (Shurnway et al., 1988). In
                                 system that pollutes shellf ish-g rowing        recent years, the occurrence of
                                 waters will be shut down by the State.          blooms has increased temporally and
                                                                                 geographically. Closures from
                                  Landings                                       biotoxins have extended into surf clam
                                                                                 and mussel-harvesting areas.
                                 The region's harvest has declined
                                 dramatically since the 1950s. Oyster            There have been no commercial
                                 landings dropped from 219,000                   harvests in New Hampshire since
                                 pounds in 1986 to 113,000 pounds in             1986. Only recreational harvest is
                                 1989. Clam landings dropped from                allowed in approved shellfish-growing
                                 14.6 million to 8.3 million pounds, and         waters. The State estimates that
                                 mussel landings dropped from 6.6                downgrades of shellfish-growing
                                 million pounds to 4.8 million pounds.           waters and harvest restrictions over
                                 The exception is the scallop harvest,           the last 20 years have resulted in an
                                 which increased from 11.7 million to            85 percent loss in harvestable
                                 20.3 million pounds as a result of              softshell clams and a 67 percent loss
                                 offshore fishing agreements with                in harvestable oysters (Seiforth, pers.
                                                                                 comm.).
                                                                                                                          15










                                                      North Atlantic


                                                      Figure 4. North Atlantic Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected Species,
                                                                     1985-1989

                                 

                                                      Oyster landings, though sporadic,                                            bacteria. Nevertheless, clam landings
                                                      generally declined in Massachusetts                                          declined by almost 50 percent from
                                                      from 87,000 pounds in 1986 to 44,000                                         9.5 million pounds to 5.4 million
                                                      pounds in 1989. Some of this decline                                         pounds. This resulted, in part, from
                                                      resulted from the closure of the                                             the closure of several large shellfish-
                                                      Taunton River to all shellfish harvest-                                      growing areas in Boston and Massa-
                                                      ing. To mitigate this closure, the State                                     chusetts bays. Mussel landings from
                                                      supervises a relay program which                                             aquaculture operations and from
                                                      moves clams from the Taunton River                                           Nantucket Shoals were minimal.
                                                      to approved areas in Cape Cod Bay.
                                                      These clams are monitored for toxic                                          Massachusetts also had a large
                                                      chemicals as well as for coliform                                            increase in scallop harvest, primarily


                                                      16









                                                                                                 North Atlantic


                             Recreational clam digging on the tidal flats of Maine is an important tradition and
                             a concern to public health officials.









                                                           777








                                                                   T,

















                             Courtesy of Robert E. Glika, National Geographic Society
                             from newly classified offshore shell-
                             fish-growing waters totaling 394,000
                             acres. Landings increased from
                             almost 10 million pounds to over 18.5
                             million pounds between 1985 and
                             1990.








                                                                                                             17











                          Middle Atlantic

                         Figure 5. Classified Shellfish-Growing Waters, 1990














                                                                                    Massachusetts
                                                               New York






                                                     Pennsylvania                            Rhode
                                                                                             Island

                                                                                      Connecticut


                                                                                New Jersey

                                    Maryland


                                                                            Delaware




                                              Virginia





                                                                         Estuarine Drainage
                                                                         Area Boundary
                                                                         Classified Shellfish Growing
                                                                         Waters (1,385 Areas)




                         18









                                                                                                       Middle Atlantic


                               In the Middle Atlantic region, 5.3             Classified Shellfish-Growing
                               million acres of estuarine waters              Waters, 1985-1990. Approved
                               were classified for shellfish harvest          shellfish-growing waters in the region
                               in 1990 (Figure 5). Over 79 percent            declined from 82 percent of classified
                               were approved and 21 percent were              waters in 1985 to 79 percent in 1990.
                               harvest-limited. In addition, Now              Downgrades occurred in all but two
                               Jersey classified 265,000 acres of             states (New Jersey and Virginia), and
                               offshore waters, 78 percent of                 resulted in an additional 156,000
                               which were approved. This region               acres being downgraded to harvest-
                               ranks highest in the Nation in both            limited classifications. Over one
                               quantity of classified and percent-            million acres are now classified as
                               age of approved waters.                        harvest-limited in the region. In
                                                                              addition, over 78,000 non-productive
                               Estuarine Shellfish-Growing. Wa-               acres were removed from the Register
                               ters. The Middle Atlantic region               data base. Table 9 shows classifica-
                               extends from Buzzards Bay in Massa-            tions by state for 1985 and 1990.
                               chusetts through Chesapeake Bay in
                               Virginia. The region's coastal plain           Eleven of the 21 estuaries in the
                               estuaries are shallow and subject to           region had downgrades in classifica-
                               strong tidal circulation, creating an          tion of shellfish-growing waters, while
                               ideal habitat for molluscan shellfish.         five had upgrades. Approved acreage
                               Consequently, this region contains             outside estuaries in NOAA's NEI
                               more estuarine shellfish-growing               declined by 26,000 acres. Declines
                               waters (4.2 million acres) than any
                               other. The region's estuaries vary in
                               size from a surface water area of 32           Table 9. Distribution of Middle
                               square miles for the Delaware Inland                     Atlantic Classified Estuarine
                               Bays to 3,800 square miles for                           Waters, 1985 and 1990
                               Chesapeake Bay. The drainage                                       Percent Classified
                               basins directly affecting the quality of
                               shellfish-growing waters are relatively                    Ap
                               densely populated and contain large
                               amounts of urban land (NOAA, 1990).             State  85  90  85  90 85  90 85   90
                               Chesapeake Bay has the region's                 MA     92  54    8 45   1   1   0  0
                               largest drainage area, greatest
                               freshwater inflow, and contains the             Rl     71  69  14  12  15  15   0  4
                               most wetlands. Nearly halt of all               CT     73  68  11  19   1   2  15 12
                               approved shellfish-growing waters in            NY     7.5 75  19  17   7   8   0  0
                               the region are in the Bay. Appendix C           NJ     59  60  31  30   5   5   5  6
                               identifies the estuaries in the region
                                                                                                  Per















                               and summarizes the status of shell-             DE     91  74    8 25   1   1   0  0
                               fish-growing waters in each.                    MD     96  911   4 3    0   5   1  1

                                                                               VA     83  831   8   71 2   1   8  8
                                                                               Total  82  791 11  131  3

                                                                                                                     19









                                                Middle Atlantic



                                                Table 10. Middle Atlantic Pollution Sources Affecting Harvest Limited-
                                                                 Acreage, 1990 a,b
                                                Sources                        Massa-          Rhode      Connect- New York               New      Delaware     Maryland Virginia
                                                                               chusetts        Island        icut                      Jersey
                                                                             Acres %           Acres %    Acres % Acres %            Acres %       Acres %      Acres %        Acres %
                                                Point Sources

                                                Sewage Treat Plants            10     11       23      55 78     68     212    79      109      67 14      23     16    13     179 68

                                                Combined Sewers                  4       5     7       17 26     23     135    50      52       32    0     0        0      0     0      0

                                                Direct Discharge                 0       0     9       21    7      6    68    25         0     0     0     0        0      0     0      0

                                                Industry                         0       0     6       14    8      7       1  <1      32       20    3     5        6      5  167       63

                                                Nonpoint Sources
                                                Septic. Systems                  8       9     2       5     7      6    11     4      34       21    4     7     32    26     25        9

                                                Urban Runoff                   11     13       7       17 61     54     250    93     121       74    5     8     38    31     162       61

                                                Agricultural Runoff              0       0     1       2     2      2       5   2      23       14 11       18    60    49     28        11

                                                Wildlife                         8       9     0       0     5      4    11     4      32       20 15      25     40    33        1      <1

                                                Boats                            7       8     16      38 48     42      32    12      62       38    0     0     15    12     173       66

                                                Upstream Sources
                                                'Sewage Treat Plants           11     13       11      26 51     45         0   0         5     3     0     0        0      0  26        io

                                                Combined Sewer                   0       0     0       0     3   <1         0   0         2     <1    0     0        0      0  <1        <1

                                                Urban Runoff                   10     11       17      40    9      8       0   0         5     3     o     0        5      4  26        10

                                                Agricultural Runoff              0       0     0       0     0      0       0   0         1     1     0     0        0      0     0      0

                                                -Wildlife                      10     11       0       0 '   2      2       0   0         0     0     0     0        0      0  16        6
                                                a. Acres are times 1,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in state.
                                                b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages shown above
                                                cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.



                                                took place in Buzzards, Great South,                                    All states except             Delaware conducted
                                                Delaware, and Chesapeake bays, and                                      sanitary surveys and reclassification
                                                the Potomac, Chester, and Choptank                                      activities between 1985 and 1990 that
                                                rivers. Declines were particularly                                      resulted in slight increases in condi-
                                                significant in the latter two rivers which                              tionally approved waters. In Mary-
                                                contain Maryland's major oyster seed                                    land, 63,000 acres were reclassified
                                                beds. However, Virginia's major                                         from approved to conditionally ap-
                                                seed-producing area, the James                                          proved during the period. New Jersey
                                                River, had an increase of over 11,000                                   was the only state to upgrade its
                                                acres of approved waters, almost all                                    estuarine shellfish-growing waters
                                                upgraded from conditionally approved                                    primarily on the basis of improved
                                                status.                                                                 water quality resulting from 'he
                                                                                                                        construction of new regional sewage
                                                                                                                        treatment plants and ocean outfalls.


                                                20









                                                                                                                 Middle Atlantic


                                  However, the State must now monitor                region's estuaries (Fisher, 1989).
                                  and classify offshore buffer areas near            These events and the associated
                                  outfalls.                                          hypoxic conditions adversely affect
                                                                                     the disease-resistance capabilities of
                                  Pollution Sources Affecting Shell-                 shellfish, and have resulted in reduc-
                                  fish-Growing Waters. Many of the                   tions in natural stocks (Anderson,
                                  pollution sources affecting Middle                 1988).
                                  Atlantic shellfish-growing waters
                                  reflect expanding urbanization in the              Industry, faulty septic systems, and
                                  region. Table 10 shows the major                   wildlife also contribute to the closure
                                  categories of pollution sources                    or restriction of shellfish-growing
                                  affecting harvest-limited waters in                waters. Large quantities of pesticides
                                  Middle Atlantic states. Both sewage                applied to agricultural lands in several
                                  treatment plants and urban runoff                  Middle Atlantic estuaries, along with
                                  affected about 57 percent of the                   other toxic discharges from industry
                                  harvest-limited areas. About 2,700                 and urban runoff also affect many
                                  point source dischargers are located               shellfishing areas (Costagna, 1988).
                                  in the region. This represents about
                                  31 percent of all point source dis-                In New Jersey, the removal of point
                                  charges in the Nation's coastal zone.              source sewage pollution from inland
                                  Of the 900 municipal wastewater                    bays revealed that pollution from
                                  treatment plants in the region, 61                 nonpoint sources also contributes
                                  percent are in the Hudson River/                   significantly to harvest limitations.
                                  Raritan Bay and Chesapeake Bay
                                  estuarine drainage areas (NOAA,                     Landings
                                  1990). Data on pollution sources by
                                  estuary are provided in Appendix D.                As recently as 1959, the Middle
                                                                                     Atlantic region led the Nation in the
                                  Continued growth of the region's                   harvest of oysters, and in total mollus-
                                  coastal population and an increasing               can shellfish landings. However,
                                  demand for coastal recreation has                  since then, increasing urban pollution
                                  resulted in an increase in marina                  has closed many of the historically
                                  construction since 1985 (Judy, pers.               productive areas in Raritan Bay, Long
                                  comm.). As a result, 31 percent of                 Island Sound, and Narragansett Bay.
                                  harvest-limited areas in the region are            Over- harvesting, eutrophication, and
                                  affected by boating activities. The                disease have also destroyed many
                                  greatest increases in affected acreage             other formerly productive estuarine
                                  were in Chesapeake Bay and Long                    shellfishing areas. Consequently,
                                  Island Sound.                                      declines in the overall landings of
                                                                                     estuarine shellfish continued between
                                  Although agricultural runoff affected              1985 and 1990, despite increased
                                  only 12 percent of all harvest-limited             aquaculture. Figure 6 shows landings
                                  acreage, it has been associated with               in millions of pounds of meats of the
                                  eutrophication events in many of the               principal harvested species in the six
                                                                                     ma4or produqbgst@@eqion._
                                                                                                                                  21














                   Figure 6. Middle Atlantic Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected Species, 1985-1989

                                                                                        New York
                               Rhode Island               Connecticut                                             New Jersey                   Delaware                    Maryland                     Virginia
                   mill'on
                   POUInds     1986 1987 1988            1986 1987 1988              1986 1987 1988              1986 1987 1988             1986 1987 1988             1986 1987 1988              1986 1987 1988

                   U) 6 -

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                   U
                      4 -
                   )

                   0
                      2        NO FOMM401 h    e t   ffimm                                                                                 No pommeLal hanest
                                                     REM



                     60

                   < 40

                     20
                                                                                 999                                                          Lmer @ial han Rst

                   cf)6

                   0
                   I
                      4
                   0
                               No vm@4a] ha@ est                                                                                           'I   m m",ol he t

                   U) 0.6
                   j
                   LU

                   CO 0.4
                     0.2       No omme@ial he est        No          I halt                                                      __j No Lomme@ial h@@V             I No Lmmelal hajest                    eital laje,,









                                                                                                     Middle Atlantic


                              Landings by Major Bays. Over 32               Only about 2,000 pounds of oysters
                              million pounds of oysters were har-           were landed annually between 1985
                              vested annually in Chesapeake Bay             and 1989 in Rhode Island. Clam
                              until 1959, when a major decline              landings declined from about six
                              began. MSX and Dermo were the                 million to just over four million pounds
                              major causes of the loss (Ford, pers.         during the same period. Scallop
                              comm.). By 1989, landings were only           landings declined from 22,000 pounds
                              about four million pounds. This               in 1985 to zero in 1986 because of
                              decline has affected the ecology of the       brown tide infections, and have not
                              Bay and has impacted other fisheries          been reestablished.
                              as well (Har gis and Haven, 1988;
                              Chesapeake Executive Council,                 A new management program has
                              1989).                                        begun to revitalize the shellfish
                                                                            industry in Connecticut The State
                              Delaware Bay experienced a similar            legislature provided significant funds
                              decline in oysters due to MSX begin-          for reef restoration and regulatory
                              ning in 1957. By the early 1970s,             program expansion. The industry is
                              harvest was at an all-time low. How-          allowed to relay juvenile oysters from
                              ever, after Hurricane Agnes in 1972           public grounds classified as restricted
                              the oyster population recovered, only         to private leases in approved waters.
                              to be decimated again by MSX in the           The program has also further stimu-
                              early 1980s (Ford, pers. comm.).              lated aquaculture operations. Oyster
                              Over 640,000 pounds were landed in            landings increased from less than one
                              the Bay in 1980, declining dramatically       million to almost two million pounds
                              to 39,000 pounds in 1985. There was           between 1985 and 1989. Over the
                              no significant harvest in 1989. Reef          same period, clam landings declined
                              restoration has been unsuccessful,            from 845,000 pounds to 710,000
                              although several northern beds may            pounds. In 1987 a brown tide seri-
                              recover in the 1991 season (Cole,             ously affected scallop harvest, reduc-
                              pers. comm.). Clam landings in the            ing landings to 130,000 pounds.
                              Bay also declined from over 500,000
                              pounds in 1985 to only 37,000 pounds          Aquaculture has sustained the oyster
                              in 1989. Declining harvest is compli-         industry in New York, increasing
                              cated further by the closure of many          landings from almost 299,000 pounds
                              shellfishing areas pending sufficient         to 339,000 pounds between 1985 and
                              resources to conduct sanitary surveys.        1989. However, the largest New York
                                                                            producer recently reported massive
                              Landings by State. Buzzards Bay is            mortalities in one of its growing areas.
                              the only major Massachusetts                  Viral disease is suspected (Relyea,
                              shellfishing area in this region. How-        pers. comm.).
                              ever, landings are low compared to
                              other Middle Atlantic estuaries.              Bay scallop landings in New York
                              Oyster landings in the Bay fluctuated         declined from 269,000 pounds in 1985
                              between 18,000 and 33,000 pounds              to about 40,000 pounds in 1989,
                              between 1985 and 1989.                        following a brown tide. However,
                                                                                                                     23









                             Middle Atlantic


                             State officials expect the population to
                             recover over the next two years. New
                             York has the only sizeable mussel
                             production in the region; landings
                             increased from 154,000 pounds in
                             1985 to 585,000 pounds in 1989.
                             With the support of 15 hatcheries,
                             clam landings, primarily in Great
                             South Bay, remain at about nine
                             million pounds per year.

                             New Jersey offshore waters provided
                             the largest harvest of surf clams and
                             ocean quahogs in the region, totaling
                             over 71 m,illion pounds in 1989. New
                             Jersey currently has 10 hard clam
                             hatcheries and 30 growers, which
                             should increase the hard clam land-
                             ings in the near future. Scallop
                             landings from offshore harvest in-
                             creased from 1.7 million to almost four
                             million pounds between 1985 and
                             1989.


                             Although consumer demands for
                             Maryland clams increased during the
                             1980s, landings decreased from 23
                             million pounds to eight million pounds
                             between 1985 and 1989.


                             Clam landings in Virginia declined
                             from 14 million pounds in 1985 to nine
                             million pounds in 1989. However,
                             landings of scallops tripled to almost
                             eight million pounds. This represents
                             a trend away from declining estuarine
                             species toward more abundant
                             offshore species.








                             24









                                                                                                 Middle Atlantic


                             Only a few skipjacks remain, but are still the primary means of oyster dredging in
                             the Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay.











                                                 p:








                                     '7





                             Courtesy of Emory Kristof, National Geographic Society

























                                                                                                             25











                            South Atlantic

                           Figure 7. Classified Shellfish-Growing Waters, 1990









                                                                     orth Carolina




                                                              South
                                                              Carolina





                                                Georgia

















                                                             Florida



                                  Estuarine Drainage
                                  Area Boundary
                                  Classified Shellfish Growing
                                  Waters (473 Areas)







                          26









                                                                                                       South Atlantic


                               In the South Atlantic region, 2.9             are dominated by forests. Appendix C
                               million acres of estuarine waters             identifies the estuaries in the region
                               were classified for shellfish har-            and summarizes the status of shell-
                               vesting in 1990. Over 71 percent              fish-growing waters in each.
                               were approved and 29 percent
                               harvest-limited. This region ranks            Classified Shellfish-Growing
                               second in the Nation in percent of            Waters, 1985-1990. The South
                               approved shellfish-growing waters,            Atlantic region had the smallest net
                               and third in percentage of approved           change in classification and the
                               waters.                                       smallest net loss of approved waters
                                                                             between 1985 and 1990. Although
                               Estuarine Shellfish-Growing Wa-               classification changes took place in 12
                               ters. The South Atlantic region               of the region's 18 estuaries, the net
                               extends from North Carolina to                change was only 140,000 acres. Of
                               southern Florida. The estuaries of the        this net change, 5,000 acres were
                               region are shallow, and while they            downgrades in previously approved
                               receive 40 percent of the freshwater          shellfish-growing waters, and 135,000
                               inflow on the entire Atlantic Coast,          acres were additions to the classifica-
                               they are more affected by wind-               tion system (primarily in the restricted
                               generated circulation than by tides or        classification) from previously unclas-
                               rivers (NOAA, 1990). Consequently,            sified waters.
                               the estuaries are moderately to highly
                               susceptible to pollution retention. This      The South Atlantic led all regions in
                               region ranks third in amount of               additional acreage classified as
                               estuarine water surface area, 4,443           restricted. Florida added 65,000
                               square miles. Estuaries range in size         restricted acres to support increases
                               from a surface water area of nine             in relaying and depuration operations.
                               square miles for the North and South          Similarly, South Carolina added
                               Santee rivers to 2,949 square miles
                               for Albemarle/Pamlico Sounds. The             Table 11. Distribution of South
                               latter contains over half of the region's                Atlantic Classified Estuarine
                               approved shellf ish-g rowing waters. In                  Waters, 1985 and 1990
                               both size and approved shellfish-
                               growing waters, the Albemarle/                                    Percent Classified
                               Pamlico Sounds estuary is second                             b                     b
                               nationwide only to Chesapeake Bay.
                               South Atlantic estuarine drainage                                           0
                                                                                        1Q,4
                               areas (EDAs) contain nearly 5.9                State   85 90  85  90        0 85 90
                               million acres of coastal wetlands,                    1              1 85   9
                               second only to the Gulf of Mexico,             NC      80 79  18  19   2    P      0<1
                               including the productive sea islands           sc      72 69  24  17   3    3      011
                               complex of channels and marshlands             GA      31 28  61  68   0    0      93
                               in South Carolina and Georgia.                 FL      35 19  32  20   33   30.  <1 31
                               Sixteen of the 18 EDAs in the region                         I       I                I
                                                                             LT.--t., 75 71 122' 21 1 3    4      13

                                                                                                                     27









                                      South Atlantic



                                        Table 12. South Atlantic Pollution Sources Affecting Harvest-Limited
                                                     Acreage, 1990 ab

                                                                             North               South              Georgia                 Florida
                                                                           Carolina             Carolina
                                                                        Acres          %     Acres         %      Acres         %     Acres       %

                                        Point Sources

                                        Sewage Treat Plants             167            35       47         54       38          31      122       73

                                        Combined Sewers                    0           0        0          0         0          0           0      0

                                        Direct Discharge                   0           0        0          0         5          4           0      0
                                        Industry                           83          17       46         53       43          36          8      5

                                        Nonpoint Sources
                                        Septic Systems                     57          12       22         25       48          40      161       96

                                        Urban Runoff                       77          16       39         45       34          28      140       84
                                        Agricultural Runoff             222            47       3          3         8          7           0      0

                                        Wildlife                        149            31       17         20       42          35       98       59

                                        Boats                              64          13       30         34       37          31       15        9

                                        Upstream Sources
                                        Sewage Treat Plants                0           0        7          8         2          2           0      0
                                        Combined Sewer                     0           0        0          0         0          0           0      0

                                        Urban Runoff                       0           0        6          7         2          2           0      0
                                        Agricultural Runoff                0           0        0          0         0          0           0      0
                                        Wildlife                           0           0        19         22       16          13          0      0

                                        a. Acres are times 1,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in state.
                                        b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages
                                        shown above cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.


                                      30,000 restricted acres for relaying                       Five of the 17 estuaries with classified
                                      purposes. North Carolina classified                        shellfish-growing waters had down-
                                      1,000 additional acres as restricted.                      grades, five had upgrades, and seven
                                      Table 11 shows classifications by                          had no change. Approved acreage
                                      state for 1985 and 1990 in the region.                     outside estuaries in NOAA's NEI
                                                                                                 increased by 31,000 acres. Major
                                      Increased sanitary surveys and                             declines occurred in the Neuse River,
                                      sampling activities throughout the                         the North and South Santee rivers,
                                      region resulted in the addition of                         and St. Helena and St. Catherines/
                                      37,000 conditionally approved acres,                       Sapelo Sounds. Florida's Indian River
                                      the second largest regional gain in the                    estuary had the largest increase in
                                      Nation.                                                    classified waters. About 26,000
                                                                                                 conditionally approved acres and
                                                                                                 57,000 restricted acres were added to


                                      28









                                                                                                          South Atlantic


                                the estuary from previously unclassi-           the 17 estuaries with shellf ish-g rowing
                                fied waters, This addition was the              waters. As a result of intense popula-
                                result of more intensive monitoring by          tion growth, more than half of the        ,
                                the State, as well as the emergence of          region's sewage treatment plants are
                                intensive clam culture within the               found in Florida's Atlantic coast
                                estuary.                                        estuarine drainage areas. The natural
                                                                                harvest in these estuaries has been
                                Many South Carolina estuaries had               decimated, and harvest is recovering
                                changes in classified acreage. In               only through conservation and aqua-
                                response to the growing clam culture,           culture. For example, although the St.
                                the State increased its survey and              Johns River estuary is the fourth
                                monitoring activities. As a result,             largest in the region by surface water
                                16,000 additional acres were classi-            area (165,120 acres), only 4,291
                                fied as restricted in the Santee River          acres are classified, and just 19
                                and Charleston Harbor St. Helena                percent of these are approved for
                                Sound had the largest decrease in               harvest.
                                approved waters, and 28 percent of
                                the estuary's shellfish-growing waters          Nonpoint sources of pollution had the
                                were removed entirely from the                  greatest effect on shellfish-growing
                                Register data base as a result of over-         waters. These sources are the most
                                harvesting and habitat loss.                    difficult to control, and the effects are
                                                                                persistent because many of the
                                Pollution Sources Affecting Shell-              estuaries have weak circulation.
                                fish-Growing Waters. The pollution              Septic systems and urban runoff each
                                sources affecting South Atlantic                affect 34 percent of the harvest-limited
                                shellfish-growing waters reflect the            waters, the second highest rates in
                                generally low population density                the Nation after the Gulf of Mexico.
                                across the region, the growth in                Waters in 13 of the region's 17
                                tourism and second home develop-                estuaries containing shellfish-growing
                                ment, and the presence of several               waters are affected by these sources.
                                major urban areas such as                       The South Atlantic region ranks first in
                                Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah,               the Nation in the percent of harvest-
                                and Jacksonville. Table 12 shows the            limited waters (17 percent) affected by
                                major categories of pollution sources           boating. These nonpoint source
                                affecting the harvest-limited waters in         effects reflect the impacts of growth in
                                the South Atlantic region. Data on              tourism, second home development,
                                pollution sources by estuary are                and seasonal population influx.
                                provided in Appendix D.
                                                                                The South Atlantic ranked first among
                                Sewage treatment plants affect 44               regions in the percentage of harvest-
                                percent of the harvest-limited waters.          limited waters affected by wildlife (36
                                The South Atlantic region ranks third           percent) and agriculture (28 percent).
                                in the Nation in the number of sewage           Shellfish officials are concerned about
                                treatment plants. They affect 14 of             the effects of these pollution sources


                                                                                                                          29










                                       South Atlantic



                                       Figure 8. South Atlantic Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected Species,
                                                  1985-1989


                                              
                                       on shellfish habitat as well as on
                                       public health. For example, the region                  Landings
                                       has the greatest intensity of pesticide                The region's landings declined
                                       application to agricultural lands in the               dramatically between 1985 and 1989.
                                       Nation (NOAA, 1990). Although                          Oyster landings declined from 1.6
                                       human pathogens normally may not                       million to one million pounds, clams
                                                                     
                                                                                              
                                       be associated with wildlife abd agricul-               declined from 3.1 million to 1.7 million
                                       ture, the nutrients and toxics from                    pounds, and scallops from 10.4 million
                                       these sources do affect water quality                  to 3.4 million pounds. No mussels
                                       and shellfish habitat. This is espe-                   were landed during this period,
                                       cially true in the South Atlantic be-                  although South Carolina reported new
                                       cause of weak estuarine circulation.

                                       30









                                                                                                       South Atlantic


                               landings of two offshore species,              landings for this estuary declined from
                               blood arc and whelk. Figure 8 shows            1.5 million pounds in 1985 to 306,000
                               landings in millions of pounds of              pounds in 1989, due primarily to over-
                               meats for the principal harvested              harvesting. Also, conditionally ap-
                               species for the four states in the             proved waters increased by 26,000
                               region.                                        acres and restricted waters by 57,000
                                                                              acres.
                               Landings by Major Bays.
                               AlbemarlelPamlico Sounds is the                Landings by State. In North Caro-
                               largest oyster-producing estuary in the        lina, oyster landings declined from
                               South Atlantic region, and historically        545,000 pounds in 1985 to 530,000
                               has been the source of 60 percent of           pounds in 1989, as a result of MSX,
                               all landings in North Carolina. Land-          Dermo, and red tide bloom effects.
                               ings peaked at 1.4 million pounds in           Clam landings remained constant at
                               1987 and declined to 530,000 pounds            1.3 million pounds, while scallop
                               in 1989, due in part to MSX and                landings declined from 456,000
                               Dermo. This suggests that the                  pounds to 84,000 pounds. Three of
                               estuarine salinities varied abnormally         the State's six estuaries had declines
                               during this period. Although the               in approved shellfish-growing waters
                               classifications of shellfish-growing           and three had increases. Four of the
                               waters did not change significantly,           six had increases in conditionally
                               North Carolina expanded sampling               approved waters. Consequently, the
                               because of rapidly expanding devel-            major reasons for declines were
                               opment.                                        disease, over- harvesting, and habitat
                                                                              loss. Several new clam hatcheries
                               In 1985, South Carolina's Charleston           have begun operations, and the State
                               Harbor, St. Helena Sound, and Broad            revised its leasing program in support
                               Riverestuaries combined to produce             of aquaculture initiatives. In Septem-
                               over 745,000 pounds of oysters, but            ber 1987, a bloom of the toxic di-
                               only 75,000 pounds were landed in              noflagellate Ptychodiscus brevis
                               1989. Like Albemarle/Pamlico                   occurred. The State closed 361,000
                               Sounds, these estuaries were affected          acres of shellfish-growing waters for
                               by MSX and Dermo, as well as red               three months between Cape Hatteras
                               tide blooms from the dinoflagellate            and the South Carolina border (48
                               Ptychodiscus brevis. The decline also          percent of the State's oyster beds).
                               was influenced by over-harvesting and          The economic loss was estimated to
                               the net loss of 9,000 acres of ap-             be $3.5 million. Most of the affected
                               proved shellfish-growing waters.               areas were re-opened within three
                                                                              months,
                               The Indian River estuary produced the
                               largest landings of clams and scallops         Like many Atlantic Coast states,
                               (calico) in the region, and nearly all         South Carolina's oyster industry has
                               landings of these species for the              been damaged severely by a combi-
                               Atlantic coast of Florida. Clam                nation of over-harvesting, disease,


                                                                                                                       31








                               South Atlantic


                               pollution, and habitat loss from coastal        Oyster harvest in Florida increased
                               development. Oyster landings                    from 28,000 to 134,000 pounds as a
                               declined from one million pounds to             result of hatchery operations. The
                               290,000 pounds between 1985 and                 number of planted seed oysters
                               1989. Only two of the State's once              produced in hatcheries increased from
                               numerous oyster-shucking houses                 16 million in 1988 to 74 million in
                               remain. Clam landings fluctuated                1990. The. scallop harvest declined
                               between 108,000 and 240,000                     from 10 million to 3.4 million pounds.
                               pounds. The State has just begun                The historically substantial clam
                               operations at the Nation's largest clam         harvest also declined significantly,
                               hatchery. No scallop or mussel                  from 1.5 million Oounds in 1985 to
                               landings were reported. Between                 300,000 pounds in 1989. Decreases
                               January and May 1988, South Caro-               in Indian River resulted primarily from
                               lina closed over 4,600 acres of                 over-harvesting. However, in the St.
                               approved shellfish-growing waters               Johns River and Biscayne Bay
                               after discovering the red tide in its           estuaries, the decline resulted from
                               northern waters. The State currently            pollution due to increases in urban
                               is planting shell to revitalize its oyster      population. Most of Biscayne Bay's
                               beds, and is encouraging aquaculture            shellfish-growing waters have been
                               operations.                                     removed entirely from classification.
                                                                               Still, clam hatchery operations have
                               Georgia had the second smallest                 recently been initiated in Indian River
                               shellfish harvest in the Nation. In             and Biscayne Bay.
                               1989, oyster landings reached their
                               highest level in five years, 46,000
                               pounds. Although Georgia's estuarine
                               waters are high in nutrients and are
                               relatively clean, restrictions on dredg-
                               ing, access to reefs in tidal creeks,
                               and the difficulty of removing oysters
                               from large clumps has delayed
                               development of the oyster industry.
                               Leases for bid are rare because
                               upland property owners' rights extend
                               to the mean low water level, and all
                               marsh lands are state-owned. In
                               addition, the State's limited classifica-
                               tion resources led to a policy that
                               requires the closing of all shellfish-
                               growing  waters near urban areas.
                               These same factors affect the clam
                               harvest, which did not decline but
                               varied greatly from 7,000 pounds to
                               64,000 pounds annually.


                               32









                                                                                                      South Atlantic


                               Recreational harvest of intertidal oysters in inland creeks in Georgia.

                                DO







                                                                                     <
















                               Courtesy of Bates Littlehale, National Geographic Society


























                                                                                                                   33


















                                                                                                                                       M



                                                                                                                                       p    0


                                                                                                                                            (D
                                                                                                                                            X

                                                                                                                                            0

                                                                                   ississippi
                                                                                                                                       (D
                                                                                                 Alabama
                                                                                                                 Georgia
                                                                      Louisiana
                                       Texas







                                                                                                                        Florida        S6



                                                                                  Estuarine Drainage
                                                                                  Area Boundary
                                                                                  Classified Shellfish Growing
                                                                                  Waters (511 Areas)









                                                                                                        Gulf of Mexico


                               In the Gulf of Mexico region, 7.1               Classified Shellfish-Growing
                               million acres of estuarine waters               Waters, 1985-1990. Approved
                               were classified for shellfish harvest           shellfishing areas in the region
                               in 1990 (Figure 9). Forty-eight                 declined from 54 percent of classified
                               percent were classified as ap-                  waters in 1985 to 48 percent in 1990.
                               proved and 52 percent as harvest-               Over 3.7 million acres now are
                               limited. This region ranks first in             classified as harvest-limited. In
                               the Nation in both total acres of               addition, almost 147,000 acres were
                               classified estuarine shellfish-                 removed from the Register data base.
                               growing waters and total acres of               Declines in approved acreage oc-
                               prohibited shellfish-growing wa-                curred in Florida and Texas, while
                               ters.                                           Mississippi and Louisiana gained
                                                                               approved acreage. Alabama had no
                               Estuarine Shellfish-Growing Wa-                 change in approved acreage, but
                               ters. The Gulf of Mexico region                 added 17,000 acres, all classified as
                               extends from the southern tip of                prohibited. Table 13 shows classifica-
                               Florida, west to the Texas-Mexico               tions by state for 1985 and 1990.
                               border. Estuaries in the region are
                               generally the shallowest in the Nation,         Fourteen of the 32 estuaries had net
                               have the largest amount of water                downgrades in classification while
                               surface area (11,764 square miles),             eight had upgrades. Ten estuaries
                               receive the greatest freshwater inflow,         had no net change in classification.
                               and are the least influenced by tidal           Approved acreage outside estuaries in
                               circulation. The Gulf of Mexico                 NOAA's NEI increased by 14,000
                               contains the most classified shellfish-         acres. Particularly significant were the.
                               growing waters (7.1 million acres) in           reclassifications from conditionally
                               the Nation, and was the largest
                               oyster-producing region. The region
                               also contains more than half of the             Table 13. Distribution of Gulf of
                               Nation's coastal wetlands (16,600                           Mexico Classified Estuarine
                               square miles), and is generally the                         Waters, 1985 and 1990
                               least susceptible to pollution retention.                           Percent Classified

                                                                                            b       b                  b
                               Gulf of Mexico estuarine drainage
                               areas (EDAs) are strongly affected by
                               hurricanes and rainfall, creating               State   85  90 85   901 85   90  85,90
                               extremes in circulation, salinity, and
                               upstream influences in the estuaries            FL      28  15 33   35 39    43  0 5
                               (NOAA, 1990). Therefore, the region             AL      16  15 24   28 60    57  0      0
                               contains 73 percent (1.2 million acres)
                                                                                       /7Per
                                                                                                          C?
                                                                                                     8 549 @O

                               of the Nation's conditionally approved          M S     35  64 25   15 40    8 1 13
                               sheilfish-growing waters. Appendix C            LA      52  56 24   35 13 10 11 0
                               identifies the estuaries in the region          TX      80  '56 20  37 <1    7   0      0
                               and summarizes the status of shell-             Total   54  48124   34117    16, 6      2
                               fish-growing waters in each.
                                                                                                                       35








                                               Gulf of Mexico



                                               Table 14. Gulf of Mexico Pollution Sources Affecting Harvest-Limited
                                                              Acreage,        1990 a,   b

                                                                                      Florida            Alabama           Mississippi         Louisiana               Texas


                                                                                  Acres       %          Acres %           Acres       %      Acres        %      Acres        V.


                                               Point Sources

                                               Sewage Treat Plants                394         45         86    27          27          17      265         18     201          24

                                               Combined Sewers                        7       1          0        0        0           0       204         14          0       0

                                               Direct Discharge                       2       <1         5        2        0           0       912         60          1       <1

                                               Industry                           205         24         0        0        39          25      218         14          60      7

                                               Nonpoint Sourcuti
                                               Septic Systems                   1 697         80         0        0        15          10      580         38     471          56

                                               Urban Runoff                       466         54         0        0        32          20      643         43     135          16

                                               Agricultural Runoff                    4       <1         18       6        0           0         59        4      220          26

                                               Wildlife                           528         61         41    13          8           5       415         28     123          15

                                               Boats                                64        7          1     <1          94          60      225         15     123          15


                                               Upstream Sources                 I
                                               Sewage Treat Plants              i 131         15         2        1        3           2      1,038        69          0       0

                                                                                                                                       0
                                               Combined Sewer                         7       <1         3     <1          0                     13        <1     114          3
                                               Urban Runoff                           7       <1         211   67          3           21      562         37          10      1

                                               Agricultural Runo                                                                       0
                                                                  ff                  0       0          211   67          0                       3       <1     221          26

                                               Wildlife                           141         16         0        0        0           0           3       <1          66      8
                                               a. Acres are times 1,060; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in state.
                                               b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages shown above
                                               cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.


                                               approved       to approved made by both                            Antonio Bay (69,000 acres), and
                                               Mississippi and Louisiana in Missis-                               Upper Laguna Madre (226,000 acres).
                                               sippi Sound. Mississippi completed
                                               sanitary surveys which enabled the                                 Most of the region's classification
                                               State to open 124,000 acres, and                                   changes were a result of management
                                               Louisiana increased sampling efforts                               decisions based on increased sanitary
                                               in the estuary, allowing the reclassifi-                           survey and sampling activities. This
                                               cation of 71,000 acres. Significant                                expansion allowed Florida and Texas
                                               declines in approved waters occurred                               to increase their conditionally ap-
                                               in Choctawhatchee Bay (53,000                                      proved waters by 245,000 acres.
                                               acres), Pensacola Bay (43,000 acres),                              Although Mississippi and Louisiana
                                               Mississippi Delta Region (7,000                                    increased approved shel If ish-g rowing
                                               acres), Brazos River (4,000 acres),                                waters, administirdtive limitations
                                               Matagorda Bay (32,000 acres), San                                  resulted in a 240,000 acre decrease in

                                               36









                                                                                                       Gulf of Mexico


                              conditionally approved waters in these         sources among the regions, over
                              states.                                        3,700, or 41 percent of the Nation's
                                                                             total. Point sources of pollution affect
                              Pollution Sources Affecting Shell-             only about 14 percent of harvest-
                              fish-Growing Waters. Pollution                 limited waters regionwide. Over half
                              sources affecting the region's shell-          of the point sources are industrial
                              fish-growing waters reflect urbaniza-          facilities, many associated with the
                              tion and industrialization around port         petrochemical industry and thus are
                              cities, and the suburban and rural land        concentrated around port cities.
                              uses which characterize about 95               Galveston Bay, for example, contains
                              percent of the region's estuarine              747 industrial point sources, the
                              drainage areas (NOAA, 1990).                   largest concentration in any estuary
                              Nonpoint and upstream sources of               nationwide. Galveston Bay also
                              pollution affect more harvest-limited          contains 566 sewage treatment
                              shellfish-growing waters in the Gulf of        plants, 45 percent of the regional total.
                              Mexico than in any other region.
                              Table 14 shows major categories of             Sewage treatment plants affect 27
                              pollution sources affecting harvest-           percent of the region's harvest-limited
                              limited waters in the region. Data on          waters, but are a major factor only in
                              pollution sources aggregated by                the most developed estuaries (about a
                              estuary are given in Appendix D.               third), such as Tampa Bay, Mobile
                                                                             Bay, Mississippi Sound, the Missis-
                              Among nonpoint sources, septic                 sippi Delta Region, and Galveston
                              systems affect the most (48 percent)           Bay. Direct discharges are a major
                              harvest-limited shellfish-growing              pollution factor, affecting 25 percent
                              waters. This is indicative of the many         of harvest-limited waters. These are
                              small communities in the region.               located primarily in sparsely populated
                              Direct urban runoff affects 35 percent         areas of Louisiana, where small
                              of the harvest-limited shellfish-growing       camps accommodate hunting and
                              waters and upstream urban runoff               fishing activities.
                              affects 22 percent, attributable to
                              urbanization, high freshwater inflow,          Although most of the region's estuar-
                              and low tidal influence. In addition,          ies are rural, only eight percent of the
                              wildlife affects 30 percent of harvest-        harvest-limited shellfish-growing
                              limited waters. NOAA estimates that            waters were affected by agricultural
                              over 80 percent of fecal coliform loads        runoff. The amount of harvest-limited
                              in the Gulf of Mexico are from                 shellfish-growing waters affected by
                              nonpoint sources (Office of Technol-           agricultural runoff is not expected to
                              ogy Assessment, 1987).                         change greatly over the next five
                                                                             years, although urban, industrialand
                              Although nonpoint pollution affects the        recreational sources of pollution are
                              most harvest-limited waters, estuarine         expected to increase. Between 1970
                              drainage areas in the Gulf of Mexico           and 1990 the region's coastal popula-
                              contain the greatest number of point           tion increased by 30 percent, and is


                                                                                                                      37










                                                        Gulf of Mexico



                                                        Figure 10. Gulf of Mexico Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected
                                                                           Species, 1985-1989


                                                        expected to increase another 26                                               Mexico has consistently led the Nation
                                                        percent in the next 20 years (NOAA,                                           in oyster harvesting. By the end of
                                                        1990). Associated development will                                            1990 further declines made the Gulf
                                                        place further stresses on the quality                                         the Nation's second largest oyster-
                                                        and quantity of shellfish-growing                                             producing region, following the Pacific.
                                                        waters in the Gulf.                                                           However, during this period clam and
                                                                                                                                      mussel harvest has been the lowest
                                                        Landings                                                                      among the regions. The exception is
                                                                                                                                      Florida where calico scallop landings
                                                        Despite a 50 percent decline in oyster                                        have increased. Figure 10 shows
                                                        landings since 1985, the Gulf of                                              landings in millions of pounds of

                                                        38









                                                                                                           Gulf of Mexico


                               meats for the principal harvested                harvesting on public reefs gradually is
                               species for the five states in the               giving way to aquaculture, relaying,
                               region.                                          and private leases.
                               Landings by State. F/&-,\Ja`s oyster             In Mississippi, oyster landings de-
                               landings decreased from over four                creased from over one million pounds
                               million pounds in 1985 to less than 1.5          in 1985 to 100,000 pounds in 1989.
                               million pounds in 1989. Clam land-               Weather cycles have had effects
                               ings also decreased from 215,000                 similar to those in Alabama, resulting
                               pounds in 1985 to 18,000 pounds in               in periods of high salinity and De          'rmo.
                               1989. In contrast to the State's east            Oyster reefs in some waters, such as
                               coast, where scallop landings de-                Biloxi Bay, have survived these
                               clined, Gulf Coast landings increased            cyclical events. However, many of
                               from 5,000 pounds in 1986 to over 1.5            these waters are closed due to
                               million pounds in 1989. Declines have            coliform contamination from shoreline
                               been attributed to over-harvesting and           activities. Only a sn. all part of Biloxi
                               increases in harvest-limited waters              Bay's productive reefs are now
                               affected by pollution sources associ-            classified as restricted and are
                               ated with coastal development. From              available only for the relay of oysters.
                               Charlotte Harbor south, estuarine
                               waters are used primarily for recre-             Louisiana was the major oyster-
                               ational harvest, and many of these               producing state in the U.S. during the
                               waters were placed in the NSINIP                 period. Over 14 million pounds of
                               classification. In Pensacola Bay,                oysters were harvested in 1985, and
                               Dermo infected and destroyed the                 the harvest increased to 22 million
                               oyster population as a result of higher          pounds in 1988. However, in 1989
                               drought-related salinities.                      oyster landings in Louisiana de-
                                                                                creased to just over 8.7 million
                               The oyster harvest in Alabama                    pounds. Declines in landings are
                               dropped from 1.3 million pounds in               attributed to disease, habitat loss and
                               1985 to 10,000 pounds in 1989.                   declines in approved waters. Ap-
                               Although a significant spat set was              proved waters often are located in
                               reported in 1989, most of Mobile Bay             areas of high salinity where diseases
                               remains closed for conservation                  such as Dermo and predators such as
                               purposes and as a result of local and            the oyster drill cause high mortality.
                               upstream pollution. However, the                 The most productive reefs are in
                               main reason for large declines is                conditionally approved waters where
                               Dermo, which returns to the Bay                  pollution brought in by heavy rains
                               between hurricanes or major storm                and high river stages closes waters to
                               years when salinities increase. There            harvesting for extended periods.
                               also are indications that pollution and          Much of the harvest involves trans-
                               hypoxia may reduce the oyster's                  planting seed oysters from restricted
                               resistance to such diseases (Ander-              public seed waters to approved
                               son, 1988). Consequently, natural                private growing waters, where they

                                                                                                                            39









                             Gulf of Mexico


                             complete the growth cycle. The
                             process is labor-intensive, and
                             mortality is almost 50 percent.

                             Oyster landings in Texas decreased
                             from 5.1 million pounds in 1985 to two
                             million pounds in 1989, harvested
                             from 1.2 million acres of approved and
                             conditionally approved shellfish-
                             growing waters. In most cases, Texas
                             classifications are influenced by
                             rainfall and upstream pollution. The
                             oyster harvest has been affected
                             greatly by salinity extremes resulting
                             from drought, hurricanes, storms and
                             upstream rainfall events. The hy-
                             persaline conditions that dominated
                             most of the waters between 1985 and
                             1990 led to widespread Dermo
                             infections. Galveston Bay suffered
                             additional declines from heavy rains in
                             1989, followed by an oil spill adjacent
                             to Redfish Bar, the most productive
                             reef in the State. However, a good
                             setting of spat now has been ob-
                             served in many parts of the Bay.
                             State agencies are working on a plan
                             to alter upstream dam releases to help
                             stabilize salinities in eastern Texas
                             estuaries. Matagorda and San
                             Antonio bays, which had less salinity
                             extremes during the period, had minor
                             harvest increases. In 1986, a red tide
                             infestation curtailed harvest and
                             reduced some stock. The State has
                             since initiated a biotoxin monitoring
                             plan.









                             40









                                                                                                    Gulf of Mexico


                              While declining in number, classic oyster-dredging boats in the Gulf waters of
                              Louisiana still harvest half of the Nation's oysters.











                                                                                                                --4@:














                              Courtesy of Dorothy Leonard, NOAA



























                                                                                                                41











                           Pacif ic

                          Figure 11. Classified Shellfish-Growing Waters, 1990





                                               Washington








                                              Oregon








                                                                           Estuarine Drainage
                                                                           Area Boundary
                                                                           Classified Shellfish Growing
                                                                           Waters (294 Areas)








                                               California


















                          42









                                                                                                               Pacific


                              In the Pacific region, 428,000 acres           Classified Shellfish-Growing
                              of estuarine waters were classified            Waters, 1985-1990. Approved
                              for shellfish harvest in 1990 (Figure          estuarine shellfish-growing waters
                              11). Thirty-three percent were                 (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) de-
                              approved and 67 percent harvest-               clined from 42 to 33 percent of
                              limited. This region has the least             classified waters between 1985 and
                              classified estuarine waters and the            1990, a downgrade of almost 20,000
                              smallest percentage of approved                acres. Of the total 428,000 classified
                              waters in the Nation. In addition,             acres in the region, about 275,000 (67
                              216,000 acres were classified in               percent) acres are now classified as
                              Alaska and Hawaii, of which                    harvest-limited. An additional 4000
                              198,000 were approved.                         acres of shellfish-growing waters were
                                                                             classified (all as restricted) during the
                              Estuarine Shellfish-Growing Wa-                period.
                              ters. The Pacific region extends from
                              California's Tijuana estuary to Puget          Declines in approved shellfish-growing
                              Sound. Estuaries in the region are             waters occurred in Washington and
                              small compared to others nationwide.           Oregon. Although California in-
                              Over half have water surface areas of          creased its approved waters by 1,000
                              less than five square miles. Except            acres, it also increased prohibited
                              for San Francisco Bay, Columbia                waters by 20,000 acres. This oc-
                              River, and Puget Sound, most of                curred primarily in response to an
                              these small estuaries also are shal-           increase in applications for aquacul-
                              low, and their circulation is dominated        ture leases.
                              by riverine influences (NOAA, 1990).
                              Consequently, habitat for intertidal
                              molluscan shellfish is limited, and             Table 15. Distribution of Pacific
                              most of the harvest is from aquacul-                        Classified Estuarine
                              ture. The Pacific region has the                            Waters, 1985 and 1990
                              second lowest amount of total coastal
                              wetlands in the Nation (NOAA,                                      Percent Classified
                              1991 b). These smaller estuaries are                                                b
                              also highly sensitive to the effects of
                              pollution (NOAA, 1990). For example,
                              declines in water quality in Southern
                              California resulting from urbanization          State  85   90 85  90 85   90   85  90'
                              have restricted most harvest in the             CA       2   2 86  88  11   9    1  1
                              State to the classified shellfishing            OR     35   22 36  35  30  42    0  2
                              areas north of San Francisco Bay.
                              Appendix C identifies the estuaries in          WA     61   50 20  22  19  18    0  11
                              the region and summarizes the status            AK     nd   100 nd   0 nd   0  nd   0
                              of shellfish-growing waters in each.            HI     nd    0 nd  100 nd   0  nd   0
                                                                              Total  42   53 40  311 18  11 1 1   5
                                                                             Abreviations: nd, no data


                                                                                                                    43









                                              Pacific



                                              Table 16. Pacific Pollution Sources Affecting Harvest-Limited Acreage, 1990 a,b

                                                                                    California          Oregon           Washington             Alaska              Hawaii


                                                                                Acres        %          Acres %         Acres         %     Acres       %       Acres        %


                                              Point Sources

                                              Sewage Treat Plants                   16       13         5      18         53          40        0       0           1        6

                                              Combined Sewers                       0        0          0        0         0          0         0       0           0        0

                                              Direct Discharge                      0        0          6      21          0          0         0       0           0        0

                                              Industry                              86       68         0        0        37          28        0       0           6        33

                                              Nonpoint Sources
                                              Septic Systems                        11       9          9      32         37          28        0       0           0        0

                                              Urban Runoff                          26       20         12     43         54          41        0       0           18       100

                                              Agricultural Runoff                   18       14         8      29         15          11        0       0           0        0

                                              Wildlife                              18       14         0        0         4          3         0       0           17       94

                                              Boats                                 25       20         6      21         10          8         0       0           6        33


                                              Upstream Sources
                                              Sewage Treat Plants                   0        0          2        7        43          33        0       0           0        0

                                              Combined Sewer                        0        a          u        0         0          0         0       0           0        0

                                              Urban Runoff                          0        0          0        0        43          33        0       0           0        0

                                              Agricultural Runoff                   0        0          0        0         0          0         0       0           0        0

                                              Wildlife                              0        0          0        0         0          0         0       0           0        0
                                              a. Acres are times 1,000; % is percent of all harvest-limited acreage in state.
                                              b. Since the same percentage of a shellfish area can be affected by more than one source, the percentages shown above
                                              cannot be added. They will not sum to 100.


                                              Declines occurred in five of the 20                                example, urban runoff and shoreline
                                              estuaries with classified shellfish-                               development caused downgrades in
                                              growing waters. An increase in                                     Oakland Bay (820 acres) and Lynch
                                              approved waters occurred in Drakes                                 Cove (630 acres). Willapa Bay, the
                                              Estero as additional acres were                                    most productive shellfishing area in
                                              placed into production. Particularly                               the region, also experienced declines
                                              significant are the declines in ap-                                as a result of increasing shoreline
                                              proved waters in Yaquina Bay and                                   development. Over 2,000 acres have
                                              Skagit Bay, where 5,400 acres were                                 been reclassified from approved to
                                              reclassified as restricted. Of the                                 restricted.
                                              Region's three largest estuaries (San
                                              Francisco Bay, Columbia River, and                                 As in other regions, most of the
                                              Puget Sound) only Puget Sound had                                  changes in classification were a result
                                              approved shellfish-growing waters.                                 of management decisions based on
                                              These continued to decline. For                                    increased sanitary survey and sam-
                                                                                                                 pling activities.

                                              44









                                                                                                                 Pacific


                              Classified Shellfish-Growing                   (NOAA, 1990). However, the Pacific
                              Waters in Alaska and Hawaii, 1990.             region has the Nation's highest
                              There were 36 areas classified as              percentage (42 percent) of harvest-
                              approved in Alaska, totaling nearly            limited shellfish-growing waters
                              198,000 acres. Another 7,000 acres             affected by industry. Three-quarters of
                              have production potential or already           the industrial dischargers are located
                              contain aquaculture operations.                in Puget Sound, Columbia River, San
                              There are no harvest-limited waters.           Francisco Bay, and San Pedro Bay.
                              A growing industry based on aquacul-           Three of the largest point source
                              ture is producing oysters, mussels,            dischargers are pulp and paper mills
                              and clams, a portion of which are              located along Columbia River. Of
                              shipped within Alaska. The wild                these large estuaries, only Puget
                              harvesting of razor clams has also             Sound currently has commercial
                              increased.                                     harvest.

                              In Hawaii, interest in oyster and clam         Sewage treatment plants affect 25
                              culture has resulted in the classifica-        percent of the harvest-limited shell-
                              tion of one acre as approved and 17            fish-growing waters and are concen-
                              acres as conditionally approved. Over          trated in the San Pedro, Santa
                              18,000 acres remain prohibited as a            Monica, and San Francisco bays,
                              result of pollution from urban, indus-         Columbia River, and Puget Sound
                              trial, and boating sources.                    estuarine drainage areas. An addi-
                                                                             tional 16 percent are affected by
                              Pollution Sources Affecting Shell-             sewage treatment plants located
                              fish-Growing Waters. Many of the               upstream. Many sewage treatment
                              pollution sources affecting Pacific            plants in Southern California have
                              shellfish-growing waters reflect               contributed to the removal of southern
                              expanding urbanization in the region.          shellfish-growing waters from classifi-
                              The region's population is expected to         cation. One of the few harvests south
                              double between 1960 and 2010 to                of Drakes Estero in 1990 was from oil
                              nearly 46 million, 77 percent of which         platform aquaculture projects in the
                              will reside in coastal counties (Culliton      Santa Barbara Channel.
                              et al., 1990). Table 16 shows the
                              major categories of pollution sources          Urban runoff and faulty septic systems
                              affecting the harvest-limited waters in        are also significant, affecting 36 and
                              the region. Data on pollution sources          19 percent of harvest-limited waters
                              aggregated by estuary are provided in          respectively. Agricultural runoff
                              Appendix D.                                    affects 13 percent of these waters and
                                                                             is particularly significant in Tillamook
                              Many urban centers in the Pacific              Bay because of extensive agricultural
                              region use ocean outfalls. Conse-              lands used primarily for dairy opera-
                              quently, there are fewer than 1,000            tions. Over 23,000 cows contribute
                              point sources of pollution in estuarine        more than three million tons of ma-
                              drainage areas of the Pacific region,          nure annually.
                              the second fewest among regions

                                                                                                                       45










                                               Pacific



                                               Figure 12. Pacific Commercial Shellfish Landings for Selected Species,
                                                                1985-1989


                                               Landings                                                           million pounds by 1990. By the end of
                                                                                                                  1990, the region's oyster landings
                                               Overall commercial landings of                                     were the highest in the Nation.
                                               molluscan shellfish in the region are                              Recreational harvest of many natural
                                               the lowest in the Nation. However,                                 stocks is still significant (NOAA,
                                               Pacific oyster culture has grown                                   1991 a). Figure 12 shows landings in
                                               steadily, followed by increased                                    millions of pounds of meats for the
                                               aquaculture in clams, mussels, and                                 principal harvested species by state in
                                                                                                                  the region.
                                               other species. The oyster culture
                                               began just after the turn of the cen-
                                               tury, and expanded to almost 11


                                               46









                                                                                                                    Pacific


                                Landings by Major Bays. Morro Bay               human activities, including clear-
                                was one of the State's leading produc-          cutting of timber. As a result, many
                                ers of Pacific oysters until the 1970s.         local conservation initiatives have
                                However, increasing sewage contami-             been undertaken.
                                nation reduced landings to 179,000
                                pounds in 1979, and to 18,000 pounds            Puget Sound leads the region's
                                in 1984. The harvest declined further           landings with over 13 million pounds
                                to 12,000 pounds in 1985, and finally           annually. Subtidal scallop and mussel
                                to zero in 1990. Drakes Estero is now           harvests increased, while intertidal
                                the southernmost major source of                oyster and clam harvests remained
                                oysters in the region, producing over           steady. To maintain this production,
                                700,000 pounds annually. Humboldt               Washington committed significant
                                Bay oyster landings dropped from 1.5            resources to monitoring the pollution
                                million pounds in 1962 to about                 effects caused by rapid population
                                500,000 pounds in 1988. The primary             growth as well as the increasing
                                reason was increasing restrictions              problem of nonpoint pollution in the
                                imposed following rainfall, when fecal          area. Consequently, the amount of
                                coliform levels exceeded standards.             management funds per acre is higher
                                However, the State and local industry           for Puget Sound than for any other
                                developed an innovative cooperative             estuary in the Nation.
                                management program which will
                                reduce closures.                                Landings by State. The production
                                                                                of oysters in California increased from
                                Tillamook Bay oyster production                 1.2 million pounds in 1985 to 1.5
                                declined dramatically from 588,000              million pounds in 1989, primarily from
                                pounds in 1968 to 300,000 pounds in             aquaculture in Drakes Estero, and
                                1985, where it has stabilized. The              Humboldt and Tornales bays. At the
                                primary reason for this decline was             turn of the century, San Francisco Bay
                                runoff from agricultural activities,            led the State in oyster production.
                                especially dairy farm operations.               However, exploitation, pollution, high
                                Recently, clean-up efforts by local             mortality rates, and poor reproduction
                                farmers and municipalities have                 ended commercial harvest by 1939.
                                improved the quality.
                                                                                Landings of clams (40,000 to 440,000
                                An annual oyster harvest of about five          pounds) and mussels (150,000 to
                                million pounds from Willapa Bay                 335,000 pounds) are highht variable
                                represents about half of Washington's           across the State. One of t6 most
                                production. This harvest is almost 20           successful mussel culture operations
                                percent of the Nation's oyster produc-          takes place on oil platforms in Santa
                                tion, making this estuary the most              Barbara Channel. However, most
                                productive per acre of surface water in         harvest, other than oysters, is by
                                the Nation. At the same time, shell-            recreational fishermen. The responsi-
                                fish-growing water closures in Willapa          bility for protection of recreational
                                Bay in 1990 resulted from increases in          shellfish-growing waters and fisher-
                                                                                men is left to local governments.
                                                                                                                          47









                             Pacific


                             Oregon oyster landings remained
                             steady at about 400,000 pounds
                             between 1985 and 1989. Similarly,
                             annual mussel landings remained at
                             50,000 pounds. Clam landings
                             declined from 99,000 to 64,000
                             pounds. Marine biotoxic plankton
                             blooms reduced the scallop harvest
                             from 205,000 pounds to zero.

                             Washington is the largest producer of
                             shellfish in the region, harvesting over
                             18 million pounds in 1989. Harvests
                             of oysters, clams, scallops, and
                             mussels have all increased. Four
                             species of scallops were harvested,
                             more tha 'n in any other state in the
                             Nation. Scallop harvest increased
                             from 51,000 pounds in 1985 to
                             307,000 pounds in 1989.

                             Alaska was once a major producer of
                             razor clams. After reaching a peak of
                             16 million pounds in 1916, over-
                             harvesting, paralytic shellfish poison-
                             ing, and market conditions eliminated
                             commercial landings by 1961. After
                             receiving approval for its Shellfish
                             Sanitation Program in 1975, Alaska
                             began to rebuild its shellfishing
                             industry. Species currently harvested
                             include razor clams, littleneck clams,
                             and geoducks. However, overall
                             landings declined from 1.1 million
                             pounds in 1985 to about 700,000
                             pounds in 1989. An aquaculture-
                             based oyster industry had its first
                             landings (106,000 pounds) in 1989.
                             Local growers are beginning to
                             explore the aquaculture potential in
                             Alaska's high-quality classified
                             shellfish-growing waters.




                             48









                                                                                                        Pacific


                             Good water quality allows Pacific aquaculturists to produce nearly half of the
                             Nation's oysters.




                                    A                                       IL
                                                                                            At





















                            Courtesy of Dorothy Leonard, NOAA






















                                                                                                             49









                                 Concluding Comments

                                 This report has described declines               A notable example of the impact of
                                 in estuarine water quality, de-                  coastal development on shellfish-
                                 creases in the acreage of approved               growing waters is the increase in
                                 molluscan shellfish waters, and                  harvest-limited waters (about 50
                                 continuing declines in the Nation Is             percent) affected by pollution associ-
                                 shellfish harvests. Although                     ated with recreational boating. In-
                                 declines in any given year are not               creases in recreational boating in
                                 especially dramatic, an almost                   many coastal areas have resulted in a
                                 inexorable trend that threatens to               proliferation of marinas, many of
                                 destroy the harvest of wild or                   which do not have facilities to collect
                                 natural shellfish continues through-             or process sewage. Many marinas
                                 out the Nation's coastal areas.                  are located in or near productive
                                                                                  shellfish-growing areas, as are the
                                 The six percent decline in approved              housing and other facilities related to
                                 shellfish-growing waters from 1985 to            such development. Consequently, in
                                 1990 (736,000 acres) was accompa-                1990 pollution from boating and
                                 nied by a 1.2 million acre increase in           marinas affected more than 25
                                 prohibited waters. These changes                 percent of the harvest-limited shell-
                                 were primarily the result of expanding           fish-growing waters in half of the
                                 coastal development, represented by              shellfish-producing states.
                                 increases in harvest-            According to molluscan
                                 limited acreage (1.2 mil-        shellfish gro ers, "The real    An Increasing Role for
                                 lion acres) affected by          battle is to mwitigate the      Aquaculture. Declines
                                 urban runoff, faulty septic      impacts of humans. No           in approVed shellfish-
                                 systems, marina develop-         clean water, no oysters."       growing waters have
                                 ment, and buffer zones           (Fitzgerald, 1989).             been paralleled by
                                 around sewage treatment                                          declines in the harvests
                                 plants. The rate of decline in ap-               of wild or natural stocks of molluscan
                                 proved acreage is highest in the most            shellfish. A continued decline in the
                                 productive estuaries such as Chesa-              water quality of productive estuaries in
                                 peake Bay, the Mississippi Delta Re-             combination with the problems of
                                 gion estuaries, and Puget Sound. The             over-harvesting and disease, may
                                 coastal drainage areas affecting these           eventually eliminate the natural
                                 estuaries already receive some of the            harvest of shellfish.
                                 heaviest pollution loads in the U.S., a
                                 condition that is not likely to change           Successful aquaculture operations in
                                 as development continues. NOAA                   estuaries such as Willapa Bay have
                                 previously reported that between 1960            shown that sustained production can
                                 and 2010, the coastal population will            be achieved. However, aquaculture
                                 grow from 80 million to more than 127            requires access to both high quality
                                 million, an increase of almost 60                water and a nearby land base. In
                                 percent (Culliton et al., 1990).                 addition, succes   sful aquaculture

                                 50








                                                                                                     Concluding Comments


                                  requires exclusive use of parcels of              data have only been collected and
                                  land and water, often competing with              analyzed on pollution sources, land-
                                  other uses such as swimming, boat-                ings, and state shellfish programs
                                  ing, fishing, and navigation. Although            since 1985. Thus, the inferences on
                                  well-established in a few estuaries,              relationships between classification,
                                  aquaculture is not yet            Shellfish program manage-       pollution sources, and
                                  encouraged by many                ment resources were             harvest are based most
                                  existing laws and regula-         reduced in half of the          heavily on a five-year
                                  tions governing private           Nation's shellfish-producing    period between 1985
                                  access to public lands and        states between 1985 and         and 1990. Data
                                  approved shellfish-growing                                        collection for the 1995
                                  waters (South Carolina Sea                                        Register will begin in
                                  Grant Consortium, 1989). Without                  late 1994. If trends reported in the
                                  increases in aquaculture it is likely that        1990 Register continue, the 1995
                                  harvests of estuarine molluscan                   Register will reveal further declines in
                                  shellfish will continue to decline, as            approved and conditionally approved
                                  they did in the 1990 statistical year             shellfish-growing waters, and in
                                  according to the most recent data                 harvests of wild stocks. Continued
                                  from the National Marine Fisheries                declines in the resources necessary
                                  Service.                                          for states to monitor, classify, and
                                                                                    manage waters may reduce further
                                  Beyond 1990. Although reporting on                the Nation's ability to sustain wild and
                                  the classifications of shellfish-growing          natural stocks of molluscan shellfish
                                  waters began with the 1966 Register,              by 1995.























                                                                                                                              51











                              References


                              Anderson, R.S. 1988. Effects of                Administration, Strategic Assessment
                              anthropogenic agents on bivalve                Branch. 43 pp.
                              cellular and humoral defense mecha-
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                               Personal Communications                     P. DiStefano, Maryland Department of
                                                                           the Environment, Baltimore, MD.
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                               Marine Resources, West Boothbay             R. Dugas, Louisiana Wildlife and
                               Harbor, ME.                                 Fisheries Commission, Baton Rouge,
                                                                           LA.
                               R. Benton, North Carolina Department
                               of Human Resources, Moorhead City,          W. Eisele, New Jersey Department of
                               NC.                                         Environmental Protection, Leeds Point,
                                                                           NJ.
                               C.E. Bryan, Texas Parks and Wildlife
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                                                                           search Laboratory, Port Norris, NJ.
                               V. Burrell, Marine Resources Research
                               Institute, Charleston, SC.                  A. Ganz, Rhode Island Department of
                                                                           Environmental Management,
                               L. Byrd, Alabama Department of Public       Wakefield, RI.
                               Health, Mobile, AL.
                                                                           K. Hansgen, Environmental Manage-
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                               LA.
                                                                           B. Hastback, New York Department of
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                               OR.                                         D. Heil, Florida Department of Natural
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                               J. Cirino, Mississippi Department of
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                                                                           Health and Human Resources, New
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                                                                           M. Hickey, Massachusetts Department
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                               Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.
                                                                           R. Howell, Delaware Department of
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                               Sanitation, Virginia State Department
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                                                                           Inverness, CA.

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                           NJ.                                        Concord, NH.

                           C. Judy, Maryland Department of            S. Ray, Texas A&M University,
                           Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD.          Galveston, TX.

                           J. LiIja, Washington State Department      D. Relyea, Flower and Son, Inc.
                           of Health, Olympia, WA.                    Bayville, NY.

                           C. Lunsford, Virginia Water Control        G. Richards, U.S. Food and Drug
                           Board, Richmond, VA.                       Administration, Washington, D.C.

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                           Social and Health Services, Olympia,
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                                                                      ing, Maryland Department of Agricul-
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                           Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD.
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                           58









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                              B. Thompson, Florida Department of           P. Wells, California Department of
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                              Health, Austin, TX.                          Administration, Davisville, RI.

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                                                                           ME.
































                                                                                                                 59










                              The fertilization process of the American oyster (Crassostrea virginica).






















                             Courtesy of Robert F. Sisson, National Geographic Society


























                             60









                          Appendices

                         A. The NEI Program       . . . . . . . . . . .                      62
                         B. Classification by State  . . . . . . . . . .                     64
                         C. Classification by Estuary     . . . . . . . . .                  67
                         D. Pollution Sources     . .. . . . . . . . . .                     83
                         E. Landings by State                                                93
                         F. State Shellfish Programs     . . . . . . . . .                   97
                         G. Glossary.                                                        99





























                                                                                             61








                             Appendix A: The NEI Program


                              National Estuarine Inventory                   estimates for 1970 and 1980 (NOAA,
                                                                             1987). Land use estimates come from
                             The goal of the National Estuarine              the USGS Land Use and Land Cover
                             Inventory (NEI) is to develop a com-            Program and are compiled for three
                             prehensive framework for evaluating             spatial units: (1) estuarine drainage
                             the health and status of the Nation's           area; (2) USGS hydrologic cataloging
                             estuaries, and to bring estuaries into          unit; and (3) counties intersecting
                             focus as a national resource base.              EDAs. Population estimates are
                             The principal spatial unit for which all        compiled for EDAs only.
                             data are organized is the estuarine
                             drainage area, or EDA, defined as that          Volume 3, Coastal Wetlands --New
                             land and water component of an entire           England Region (NOAA, 1989)
                             watershed that most directly affects an         presents wetlands acreage estimates
                             estuary (NOAA, 1985). EDA bound-                for 12 wetland types in 16 EDAs and
                             aries coincide, where possible with             42 counties from Maine to Connecti-
                             U.S. Geological Survey (USG@)                   Cut. The data are a subset of those
                             Hydrologic Cataloging Units within              presented in this report. Computer-
                             which the head of tide of an estuary            generated color maps of selected
                             falls. These data are being used to             EDAs are also presented.
                             make comparisons, rankings, statisti-
                             cal correlations, and other analyses            Volume 4, Public Recreation Facilities
                             related to resource use, environmental          in Coastal Areas (NOAA, 1988),
                             quality, and economic values among              presents data for Federal, State, and
                             estuaries.                                      local recreation facilities in 327
                                                                             counties bordering tidally influenced
                             The cornerstone of the NEI is the               water and 25 estuary groups. A total
                             National Estuarine Inventory Data               of 1,589 public agencies that owned
                             Atlas, Volume 1: Physical and                   and/or managed outdoor recreation
                             Hydrologic Characteristics (NOAA,               sites and facilities in coastal areas
                             1985). This atlas identifies 92 of the          provided data for the inventory.
                             most important estuaries of the
                             conterminous U.S. and presents                  Other NOAA projects contributing data
                             information through maps and tables.            and information to the NEI include the
                             These estuaries represent approxi-              Estuarine Living Marine Resources
                             mately 90 percent of the estuarine              program, the quality of shellfish-
                             water surface area and 90 percent of            growing waters and related projects,
                             the freshwater inflow to marine waters          the National Coastal Pollutant Dis-
                             of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of           charge Inventory, and the Outdoor
                             Mexico coasts.                                  Resource Economics program. The
                                                                             NEI represents the most consistent
                             Volume 2, Land Use Characteristics,             and comprehensive set of data
                             presents area estimates for seven               describing the Nation's estuarine
                             categories and 24 subcategories of              resource base.
                             land use, as well as population

                             62








                                                                                 Appendix A: The NEI Program


                              Additional Activities                         determine if bottom and surface
                                                                            salinities could be mapped in zones of
                              A number of additional NEI activities         five parts per thousand increments for
                              are now under way or planned.                 periods of high and low flow, an effort
                              Based on the review of Volume 1 of            to compile data for EDAs along the
                              the NEI by estuarine scientists and           Gulf Coast is now nearing completion.
                              State and Federal resource manag-             This detailed depiction will character-
                              ers, several areas have been identi-          ize the effects of freshwater inflow,
                              fied for improvement in future editions.      tides, and wind on salinity patterns
                                                                            more completely than the three
                              New Estuaries Added. New estuar-              average annual salinity zones de-
                              ies of local or regional importance           scribed in Volume I of the NEI.
                              have been added. Eight estuaries in
                              Oregon have been added due to their           Other Projects. A project focusing on
                              biological importance to coastal              the agricultural use of 28 selected
                              fisheries. Five new EDAs have been            pesticides on 71 crops in 78 EDAs
                              delineated to represent the original          was completed in 1989. Future NEI
                              Mississippi Delta Region because of a         volumes on additional topics are also
                              need for increased resolution. A              planned. For example, a project to
                              limited number of additions to other          characterize the distribution and
                              portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and        abundance of fishes and invertebrates
                              Gulf of Mexico regions have also been         in estuaries began in 1985. To date,
                              made,                                         information has been compiled on 103
                                                                            species in 83 estuaries on the Pacific,
                              A new NOAA report, Estuaries of the           Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic
                              United States, Vital Statistics of a          coasts, and information is currently
                              National Resource Base, updates the           being compiled for 62 species in 34
                              NEI. The report provides information          North Atlantic estuaries.
                              on an expanded number of EDAs
                              (102), including physical and hydro-
                              logic features, natural resources,
                              economic activities, and pollution
                              susceptibility. These EDAs and the
                              counties falling within their boundaries
                              are the units for which all NEI data are
                              now collected. The wetlands data
                              presented in Appendix D are orga-
                              nized according to this framework.

                              Improved Salinity Resolution.
                              Another recommendation was to
                              improve the resolution of the salinity
                              regimes mapped for each estuary.
                              Based on a study of Mobile Bay to

                                                                                                                   63















             Classification Trends 1985-1990 (Acres x 1000)
              eglon/State                         Approved                Conditional               Restricted                Prohibited                    Total                 Non-shellfish/
                                                                                                                                                         Classified               Non-productive      Z
                                              1985         1990         1985                                                 SO--- 1990                1985         1990          1                   CX
                                                                                                   ow-                                                                            985                 ;Z
             Maine                            929       1,583             11              7         10              1         83          195        1,034        1,786              0             0  03
              Estuarinea                      929          699            11              7         10              1         83          195        1,034          902              0             0  C)
              Offshoreb                           0        884               0            0            0            0             0            0            0       884              0             0  g
                                                                                                                                                                                                      th
             New Hampshire                        4            4             0            0            1            7             7            2         13            13         <1               2
             Massachusetts                      66         426               0            2         .5              3         23          180            95         566           554          55
              Estuarine                         66           77           <1              2            5            3         23          135            95         217           177          55
              Offshore                            0        349               0            0            0            0             0        45               0       349           377              0
                                            11000       2,014             10              9         17           11          113          377        1,141        2,410           654          5   7
             !N-o-r-th---A--tl-an-t-ic--Tot-al-,
              Estuarine                     1,000          781            10              9         17           it          113          332        1,141        1,132           177          57     (4
                                                                             0            0            0            0             0        45               0     1,278           377              0
                                                               .. . . .. ... ...                                                                              - -------
             Massachusetts                    198          102               1            2            0            0         17           84          217          189              2             0
             Rhode Island                       96           94           20              21        <1              4         19           16          135          135              0             1
             Connecticut                      310          243               6            6         64           41           45           67          425          357              0         68
             New York                         823          808            71              84           0         <1          202          185        1,096        1,077           <1           18
             New Jersey                       232          446            20              21        21           22          171          180          444          668           20               0
              Estuarine                       232          240            20              21        21           22          119          121          392          403              4             0
              Offshore                            0        206               0            0            0            0         52           59            52         265           16               0
             Delaware                         209          170               3            3         <1              0         19           58          231          231           43           43
             Maryland                       1,313       1,253                0            63           7         16           55           43        1,375        1,375           174          172
             Virginia                       1,300       1,311             31              16       126           133         119          115        1,575        1,575           47           47
             'Middle Atlantic Total         4,480       4,427            152          217          218          217          648          747        5,498        5,608           286         348
              Estuarine                     4,480       4,221            152          217          218          217          596          688        5,446        5,343           270          3,W
              Offshore                            0        206               0            0            0            0         52           59            52         265           16               0
             a. Estuarine shellfish-growing waters extend through most of the transition zone between freshwater and seawater.
             b. Offshore shellfish-growing waters extend seaward to the three-mile limit.














             Classification Trends 1985-1990 (Acres x 1000) (cont.)
             Region/State                         Approved              Conditional               Restricted               Prohibited                   Total              Non-shellfish/
                                                                                                                                                     Classified            Non-productive
                                             1985        1990         1985         1990         1985         1990        1985         1990         1985         1990       1985         1990
             North Carolina               1,803        1,812            36           47             0            1       406          427        2,245        2,286             0            0
             South Carolina                  201         192               9            9           0         30           68          48          279          279             0            1
             Georgia                           51          48              0            0         14             5       -102         115          168          168           10          10
             Florida                           40          40           37           63           <1          65           37          41          114          208        469          379
             South Atlantic Total         2,096        2,091            82         119            15         102         612          630        2,805        2,940        479          390
              EStuadnea                   2,096        2,091            82         119            15         102         612          630        2,805        2,940        479          390
              offShore b                          0           0            0            0           0            0            0            0            0            0          0            0
             Florida                         238         157          332          444              0         46         278          351          847          998        784          702
             Alabama                           57          57         211          211              0            0         86         104          354          371             2            2
             Mississippi                     153         277          171            34             2         57         107           66          433          434             0            0
             Louisiana                    1,740        1,885          430          327          393              0       8136       1,182        3,358        3,394           45             0
             Texas                        1,475        1,058               4       137              0            0       372          703        1,851        1,897             2            2
             Gulf  of Mex  1co To tal     3,662        3,434         1, 147       1,153         385          103        1,649       2,405        6,843        7,095        833          706
              Estuarine                   3,662        3,434         1,147        1,153         385          103        1,649       2,405        6,843        7,095        833          706
              off-sh ore                          0           0            0            0           0            0            0            0            0            0          0            0
             a. Estuarine shellfish-growing waters extend through most of the transition zone between freshwater and seawater.
             b. Offshore shellfish-growing waters extend seaward to the three-mile limit.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 0












             'Classification Trends 1985-1990 (Acres x 1000) (cont.)
             'Region/State                         Approved               Conditional                Restricted               Prohibited                    Total               Non-shellfish/
                                                                                                                                                         Classified             Non-productive
                                              1985         1990         1985         1990         1985          1990         1985         1990         1985         1990        1985         1990
             California                            2            2         12              12           2            1         94          115          110          130         451          605      M
               Estuarinea                          2            2         12              12           2            1         94          114          110          129         450          604
                                                                             0                                      0                                                    1           1
               Offshore b                          <1         <1                          0            0                          0         <1           < 1                                      1   ra
             Oregon                                1 4          8         1 2             1 5          0            1         1 4           1 2          39            36          44           49
             Washington                        148         130            46              46           0         29           48            57         243          262       1,794        1,788
             Alaska                                0       198               0            0            0            0             0           0             0       198              0            7
             Hawaii                                0            0            0            <1           0            0         157           1 8             0         1 8            0            0
             Pacific Total                     164         338            70              73           2         31          157          202          392          644       2,289        2,460      tr
                                                                                                                                                                                                      114Z
               Estuarine                       164         338            70              73           2         31           157         201          392          643       2,288        2,449      (1)
               Offshore                            <1         <1             0            0            0            0             0         <1           <1         527         593          513
             :U.S. Total                   11,401       12,303         1,462        1,571          636          462        3,179        4,361       16,678       18,697       4,447        3,956
               Estuarine                   11,401        10,863        1,462        1,571          636          462        3,127        4,257       16,626        17,153      4,053        3,955
               Offshore                            0      1,440              0            -0           0            0         52          104            52        1,544        394               1
             a. Estuarine shellfish-growing waters extend through most of the transition zone between freshwater and seawater.
             b. Offshore shellfish-growing waters extend seaward to the three-mile limit.








                                                                                                               Appendix C: Classification by Estuary


                                               North Atlantic












                                                                                                                         Maine















                                                        New
                                                        Hampshire                                            7









                                                                                                                                 Estuarine Drainage Areas

                                                                                           10                                    1   Passamaquoddy Bay
                                                                                                                                 2   Englishman Bay
                                                                                                                                 3   Narraguagus Bay
                                                                                                                                 4   Blue Hill Bay
                                                                                                                                 5   Penobscot Bay
                                                                                                                                 6   Muscongus Bay
                                                        Massachusetts                                         12                 7   Sheepscot Bay
                                                                                                                                 8   Casco Bay
                                                                                                                                 9   Saco Bay
                                                                                                                                 10  Great Bay
                                                                                                13                               11  Merrimack River
                                                                                                                                 12  Massachusetts Bay
                                                                                                                                 12a Boston Bay
                                                                                                                                 13  Cape Cod Bay
                                                                                                         1:6                     Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics.


                                                                                                                                                                               67





















      0)
      00    North Atlantic (Acres x 1,000)

            Estuary                              Approved             Conditional         Restricted          Prohibited              Total          % Approved                %HL
                                                1985      1990        1985     1990      1985 1990           1985     1990        1985      1990       1985     1990        1985    1990
            Passamaquoddy Bay                    34        33          <1          -         -       -            6       7         40       40          85      83           15      17
            Englishman Bay                       64           -        <1          1         1       -            2       3         67          4        95        -           5     100       0
            Narraguagas Say                      83        41          <1                                         1       1         85       42          98      97            2        3      (A
            Blue Hill Bay                        71        48              -       -         -       -            3    <1           73       48          96      100           4        -      :-:4
            Penobscot Bay                        345       215             3       4         3       -         27      60          379      280          91      77            9      23
            Muscongus Bay                        65        66              2    <1           I       -            2       7         69       74          94      90            6      10
            Sheepscot Bay                        37        68              2       -         2       -         23      26           64       94          57      72           43      28
            Casco Bay                            123       113             2       1         1       1         12      32          139      147          89      77           11      23
            Saco Bay                             21        15              -    <1           I       <1           2       8         24       24          88      62           12      38
            Great Bay                               4         4                              2       7         10         4         15       14          25      28           75      72
            Merrimack River                         -         -                            <1        -            2       2           2         2           -      -         100     100
            Massachusetts Bay                       4      23                              <1        <1        12      92           15      115          23      20           77      80
            Boston Bay                              -         -                              4       2            5    27             9      30             -      -         100     100
            Cape Cod Bay                         45        42          <1       <1           -       -            3       8         49       50          93      84            7      16
            Other                                105       113             1       2         2       1            3    53          111111   169          95      67            5      33
            North Atlantic Total               1,000       781         10          9       17        11       113     332        1,141     1,132         88      69           12      31
            National Total                    11,401    10,863       1,462   1,571       636      462       3,127   4,257      16,626    17,153          69      63           31      37
            Abbreviations: HL, harvest-limited; -, no acreage.
            Note: Not shown above are Non-shellfish/Non-oroductive classifications, which totaled 177,000 acres in 1985 and 56.000 acres in 1990. Sub-estuaries are in italics.







                                                                                                   Appendix C: Classification by Estuary


                                          Middle Atlantic











                                                                                                       New York

                                                                                                                                      Massachuse       s





                                                                                                                            r

                                                                                          Pennsylvania                                               Rhode
                                                                                                                                                     Island

                                                                                                                                            Connecticut


                                                                                                                                New Jersey
                                                                                                                         7
                                                                 Maryland                              12

                                                                                                            12             Delaware
                                                                                                12b
                                                                                                     211
                                                                                                            I 12h      10

                                                                                                                       11
                                                                              Virginia

                                                                                              120









                                                              Estuarine Drainage Areas

                                                                 1 Buzzards Bay                           12    Chesapeake Bay
                                                                 2 Narragansett Bay                       12a   Patuxent River
                                                                 3 Gardiners; Bay                         12b   Potomac River
                                                                 4 Long Island Sound                      12c   Rappahannock River
                                                                 4a Connecticut River                     12d   York River
                                                                 5 Great South Bay                        12e   James River
                                                                 6 Hudson River/Raritan Bay               12f   Chester River
                                                                 7 Barnegat Bay                           12g   Choptank River
                                                                 8 New Jersey Inland Bays                 12h   TangierlPocomoke Sounds
                                                                 9 Delaware Bay                           Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics.
                                                               10  Delaware Inland Bays
                                                               11  Chincoteague Bay


                                                                                                                                                             69














           Middle Atlantic (Acres x 1,000)

           Estuary                          Approved          Conditional       Restricted        Prohibited           Total         % Approved              % HL
                                          1986     1990       1985    1990    1985 1990           1985   1990       1985     1990     1986    1990       1985    1990
                                                                                                                                                                          0
           Buzzards Bay                     127      64        <1        1         -       -          9      57      137     122         93     52           7       48   . ,
           Narragansett Bay                 96       94        20        21        <1      4          25     21      141     141         68     67           32      33   0
           Gardiners Bay                    124      124       <1        1         -       -          2      2       126     126         98     98           2       2    (a
           Long Island Sound                926      859          6      6         62      39      107    128       1,101    1,034       84     83           16      17
           Connecticut River                  -      -            -      -                                   3         5        5        -      -                 100
                                                                                   2       2          3                                                   100
           Great South Bay                  82       68           3      15        -       <1         37     37      122     121         68     57           32      43
           Hudson River/Raritan Bay           -      -         68        68        20      20      135    114        223     202         -      -         100     100
           Barnegat Bay                     21       21           6      6         -       -          10     10        37      37        56     56           44      44
           New Jersey Inland Bays           39       46           7      8         <1      <1         10     13        57      67        69     69           31      31
           Delaware Bay                     351      311          6      6         <1      1          65  104        423     423         83     74           17      26
           Delaware Inland Bays             12       12           3      3         -       -          4      3         19      19        64     65           36      OU
           Chincoteague Bay                 104      99           -      -         2       2          <1     <1      106     101         98     98           2       2
           Chesapeake Bay                 1,708   1,701        12        43        23      32         42     32     1,785    1,808       96     94           4       6
           Patuxent River                     -      -            -      -         -       -          -      -         -        -        -      -            -       -
           Potomac River                    254      244          1      14        4       4          3      2       263     265         97     92           3       8
           Rappahannock River               64       70        <1        <1        13      13         -      -         77      83        84     84           16      16














          Middle Atlantic (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)
          Estuary                        Approved         Conditional       Restricted      Prohibited           Total        % Approved             %HL
                                        1986   1990       1985    1990     1985    1990     1985   1990       1985    1990      1985    1990     1985   1990
          York River                      32      33         <1       -        6       9        4      -         42      42       77     78          23   22
          James River                     45      57         15       2       83     86      115    115        258      260       18     22          82   78
          Chester River                   39      34          -       5        1       1        4      4         43      43       90     79          10   21
          Choptank River                    7       -         -       8        1     <1         2      2         11      11       70       -         30   100
          TangierlPocomoke Sound         232      195         2       7       <1       1        1    <1        235      204       98     96          2      4
          Other                          215      189         1       2        2       1        17    38        235     231       92     82          8    18
          Middle Atlantic Total         4,480   4,221       152    217       218    217      596    688       5,446   5,343       82     79          18   21
          National Total               11,401  10,863     1,462  1,571       636    462    3,127  4,257     16,626   17,153       69     63          31   37
          Abbreviations: HL, harvest-limited; -, no acreage.
          Note: Not shown above are Non-shellfish/Non-productive classifications, which totaled 275,000 acres in 1985 and 354,000 acres in 1990. Sub-estuaries are in italics.




                                                                                                                                                                 IZIL



                                                                                                                                                                 0
                                                                                                                                                                 a)7








                                       Appendix C: Classification by Estuary


                                        South Atlantic
                                                                                                                                     r77777)


                                                                                                 North Carolina

                                                                                                                                   lb


                                                                                                                                3
                                                                                                                          4
                                                                                          South
                                                                                          Carolina

                                                                                                            6

                                                                                                          7
                                                                       Georgia                   10 9
                                                                                                 11


                                                                                                 12
                                                                                        14



                                                                                        15






                                                                                                 16




                                                                                                          17

                                                                                        Florida













                                                Estuarine Drainage Areas
                                                1     Albemarle/Pamlico Sounds                   10     Savannah River
                                                la    PamlicolPungo Rivers                       11     Ossabaw Sound
                                                1b    Neuse River                                12     St. Catherines/Sapelo Sounds
                                                2     Bogue Sound                                13     Altamaha River
                                                3     New River                                  14     St. AndrewiSt. Simons Sounds
                                                4     Cape Fear River                            15     St. Marys River/Cumberland Sound
                                                5     Winyah Bay                                 16     St. Johns River
                                                6     North Santee/South Santee Rivers           17     Indian River
                                                7     Charleston Harbor                          18     Biscayne Bay
                                                8     St. Helena Sound                           Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics.
                                                9     Broad River


                                      72















          South Atlantic (Acres x 1,000)

          Estuary                             Approved           Conditional      Restricted       Prohibited        Total         % Approved          %HL
                                            1985     1990       1985    1990     1985    1990     1985   1990     1985     1990      1985   1990     1985   1990
          Albemarle/Pamlico Sounds          1,206    1,204          1       2        -      -      264     303     1,471   1,509      82     80        18    20
          PamlicolPungo Rivers                449     486           3       2        -      -       64     54       516      543      87     90        13    10
          Neuse River                         72         53         2       3        -      -       36     35        110     91       65     58        35    42
          Bogue Sound                         36         36      24         26       -      -         8      7       69      69       53     51        47    49
          New River                           13         14         -       -        -      -         9      9       23      23         -    60        41    40
          Cape Fear River                        9       9          -       2        -      -       is     14        27      25       33     37        67    63
          Winyah Bay                             3       3       <1         1        -      8       19     11        22      22       13     13        87    87
          N. Santee/S. Santee Rivers          32         22      <1         <1       -      14        4    <1        36      36       89     61        11    39
          Charleston Harbor                      -       -          5       5        -      2       19     17        24      24         -      -      100    100
          St. Helena Sound                    155      116          1       <1       -      <1        5    <1        161     116      96     99          4     1
          Broad River                            3       3       <1         <1       -      <1        .9     9       12      13       25     26        75    74
          Savannah River                         8       8          -       -        -      1       23     33        31      42       25     19        75    81
          Ossabaw Sound                          2       2          -       -        9      -       <1       9       10      10       15     16        85    84
          St. Catherines/Sapelo Sds           20         15         -       -        1      -       23     28        44      44       44     36        56    64     Cx
          Altamaha River                         -       -          -       -        -      -       12     12        12      12         -      -      100    100    i;I
                                                                                                                                                                    0

                                                                                                                                                                    0



                                                                                                                                                                    ZZ














           South Atlantic (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)

           Estuary                              Approved             Conditional       Restricted       Prohibited          Total          % Approved            %HL
                                               1985     1990        1985    1990      1985   1990       1985   1990      1985     1990       1985   1990      1985   1990    ;1Z
           St. Andrew/St. Simons Scls             20      21            -       -        4       5        35      34         59       60       34     34       66     66     0
           St. Marys River/Cumberland Sd            -        -          -       -        -     <1           -      -          -        -         -      -        -      -    0
           St. Johns River                          1        1          1       1        -       -          2      2          4        4       19     19       81     81
           Indian River                           22      22          20      46         -     57         27      29         69      153       32     14       68     86     Z.,
           Biscayne Bay                             -        -          -       -        -       -          -      -          -        -         -      -        -      -
           Other                                  45      76          25      30         -     13         35      23        105      143       43     53       57     47
           South Atlantic Total                2,096    2,091         82     jig         15   100        612     630      2,805    2,940       75     71       25     29
           National Total                     11,401   10,863      1,462   1,571       636    462      3,127   4,257     16,626   17,153       69     63       31     37
                                                                                                                                                                             rrl
           Abbreviations:  HL, harvest-limited;     no acreage; Scl,souncl.
           Note: Not shown above are Non-shellfish/Non-productive areas, which tot@lecl 479,000 acres in 1985 and 390,000 acres in 1990.
























                                                                                                                                                                                         0


                                                                                                                                                                                         (D
                                                                                                                Mississippi                                                              X.
                                                                                                                                                                                         0
                                                        Texas                                 Louisiana                             Alabama             Georgia                          0

                                                                                                            18,
                                                                                                                                       13       12
                                                                                                                                    4
                                                                                            23                                                          9
                                                                                               22         21:

                                                                            26
                                                                                                                                                                  Florida
                                                                    2  20-
                                                                                                                                                                    7


                                                                    -:so,


                                                                                                                                                                    4

                        Estuarine Drainage Areas                                                                                                                                                    0
                        1  Florida Bay                        10    Apalachicola Bay               17   Breton/Chandeleur Sounds                26 Matagorda Bay                                    0)
                        2  South Ten Thousand Islands         I I   St. Andrew Bay                 18   Mississippi River                       27 San Antonio Bay
                        3  North Ten Thousand Islands         12    Choctawhatchee Bay             19   Barataria Bay                           28 Aransas Bay
                        4  Rookery Bay                        13    Pensacola Bay                  20   Terrebonne/Timbalier Bays               29 Corpus Christi Bay
                        5  Charlotte Harbor                   14    Perdido Bay                    21   Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays              30 Upper Laguna Madre
                        5a Caloosahatchee River               15    Mobile Bay                     22   Calcasieu Lake                          30a Baffin Bay
                        6  Sarasota Bay                       16    Mississippi Sound              23   Sabine Lake                             31 Lower Laguna Madre
                        7  Tampa Bay                          16a   Lake Borgne                    24   Galveston Bay                           Note: Sub- estuaries are in
                        8  Suwannee River                     16b   Lake Pontchartrain             25   Brazos River                            it alics.
                        9  Apalachee Bay
       01













           Gulf of Mexico (Acres x 1,000)                                                                                                                                ,3:b

           Estuary                               Approved       Conditional        Restricted          Prohibited         Total         % Approved            %HL
                                                                                                                                                                         CIL
                                                 1985  1990     1985 1990         1985 1990            1985 1990       1985     1990      1985   1990     1985 1990      ;z
             .. ... .. .......                   - - - - - ---- - - -- -- - - - ------- ---- ----- -
           Florida Bay                                                                                                                                                   0
           South Ten Thousand Islands                                                                                                                                    0
           North Ten Thousand Islands            28       28                                                   6          28      34       100       82       -   18     (A
           Rookery Bay                           -        -       -         -                          23      17         23      17         -       -    100    100
           Charlotte Harbor                      -        53      73        33                         47      35      120      120          -       44   100     56
           Caloosahatchee River                  -        -       -         -                          -       -          -       -          -       -        -     -
           Sarasota Bay                          -        -       3         3                          20      20         23      23         -       -    100    100
           Tampa Bay                             40       38      -         16                         32      45         72      98         55      38       45  62
           Suwannee River                        6        8       73        65      -      39          8       77         87    190          7       4        93  96
           Apalachee Bay                         3        3'      14        15      -      7           7       2          24      28         13      12       87  88
           Apalachicola Bay                      <1       -     132      132        -      -           10      10      142      142          -       -    too    100
           St. Andrew Bay                        -        -       37        30      -      -           26      33         64      63         -       -    100    100
           Choctawhatchee Bay                    53       -       -         50      -      -           10      25         63      75         85      -        15 100
           Pensacola Bay                         43       -       -         46      -      -           54      53         97      99         44      -        56 100
           Perdido Bay                           -        -       -         -       -      -           17      17         17      17         -       -    100    100
           Mobile Bay                            -        -     211      211        -      -           <1      <1      211      211          -       -    100    100
           Mississippi Sound                     180  375       246         37      2      57          182  147        610      616          29      61       71  39
           Lake Borgne                           169  170         12        21      -      -           19      13      200      203          84      83       16  17
           Lake Pontchartrain                    -        -       -         -      383     -           44   427        427      427          -       -    100    100














          Gulf of Mexico (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)
           Estuary                                Approved           Conditional          Restricted        Prohibited              Total           % Approved           % HL
                                                 1985     1990       1985     1990       1985    1990       1985     1990       1985     1990         1985   1990      1985   1990
            Breton/Chandeleur Sounds            1,024     1,029        38       38          -       -         58         41      1,120   1,107          91     93           9     7
            Mississippi River                        -         -          -      -          -       -         46         47         46       47           -       -      100    100
            Barataria Bay                         114      114         21       12          -       -         15         21       150       147         76     78        24     22
            Terrebonne/Timbalier Bays             298      298         39       39          -       -            3       3        337       337         88     88        12     12
            AtchfalayaNermilion Bays              122      127        172      177          -       -       385      384          678       688         18     18        82     82
            Calcasieu Lake                        11         26           -     19          -       -         40         47         52       92         22     28        78     72
            Sabine Lake                              -         -          -      -          -       -         69         69         69       69           -       -      100    100
            Galveston Bay                         175      145            -     43          -       -       184      215          359       403         49     36        51     64
            Brazos River                             5         1          -      -          -       -            2       6            7        7        73     14        27     86
            Matagorda Bay                         232      200            -     30          -       -         30         33       262       263         89     76        11     24
            San Antonio Bay                       241      172            4     64          -       -         16         27       260       263         93     65           7   35
            Aransas Bay                           183      179            -      -          -       -         41         36       223       215         82     83        18     17      10
            Corpus Christi Bay                    109      109            -      -          -       -         35         30       144       139         76     78        24     22      ID
                                                                                                                                                                                        Z
            Upper Laguna Madre                    417      191            -      -          -       -            5   217          422       408         99     47           1   53      0-
            Baffin Bay                            91         39           -      -                            13         71       104       110         88     35        12     65      c)
            Lower Laguna Madre                       2         2          -      -                               8       26         10       28         19        7      81     93
            Other                                 116      130         75       72                          198      203          389       405         30     32        70     68
            Gulf of Mexico Total                3,662    3,434      1,147    1,163        385     103      1,649    2,405        6,843   7,095          54     48        46     52
            National Total                    11,401    10,863      1,462    1,571        636     462      3,127    4,257      16,626    17,1153        69     63        31     37
            Abbreviations: FIL, harvest-limited; -, no acreage.
            Note: Non-shellfish/Non-Droductive classifications totalina 833,000 acres in 1985 and 706,000 acres in 1990 are not shown. Sub-estuaries are in italics.
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                                        Appendix C: Classification by Estuary


                                         Pacif ic




                                                                                                             Estuarine Drainage Areas
                                                                                                                 I Tijuana Estuary
                                                          28b                                                    2 San Diego Bay
                                                                                                                 3. Mission Bay
                                                                      Washington                                 4 Newport Bay
                                              27         28                                                      5 San Pedro Bay
                                               26                                                                5a Alamitos Bay
                                                                                                                 5b Anaheim Bay
                                                                                                                 6 Santa Monica Bay
                                                       25                                                        7 Morro Bay
                                          22                                                                     8 Monterey Bay
                                         21                                                                      8a Elkhorn Slough
                                         20                                                                      9 San Francisco Bay
                                                                                                                 9a Central San Franciscol
                                                8                    Oregon                                        San PablolSuisun Bays
                                               17                                                            10    Drakes Estero
                                              16                                                             11    Tornales Say
                                                                                                             12    Eel River
                                                                                                             13    Humboldt Bay
                                                                                                             14    Klamath River
                                                                                                             15    Rogue River
                                               14                                                            16    Coos Bay
                                                                                                             17    Umpqua River (old Winchester Bay)
                                         13                                                                  18    Siuslaw River
                                                                                                             19    Alsea River
                                                12                                                           20    Yaquina Bay
                                                                                                             21    Siletz Bay
                                                                                                             22    Netarts Bay
                                                                                                             23    Tillamook Bay
                                                                                                             24    Nehalem River
                                                                                                             25    Columbia River
                                                            9a                                               26    Willapa Bay
                                                          --------                                           27    Grays Harbor
                                                             9                                               28    Puget Sound
                                                                       California                            28a   Hood Canal
                                                         8         Ba                                        28b   Skagit Bay

                                                                                                             Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics.






                                                                    7

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                                                                                            3     2




                                        78















         Pacific (Acres x 1,000)

         Estuary                         Approved        Conditional        Restricted        Prohibited            Total         % Approved         % HL
                                       1985    1990       1985 1990        1985 1990          1985    1990       1985    1990      1985 1990      1985 1990
         Tijuana Estuary                 -         -         -      -         -      -           -       -          -       -        -       -       -     -
         San Diego Bay                   -         -         -      -         -      -           -       -          -       -        -       -       -     -
         Mission Bay                     -         -         -      -         -      -           -       -          -       -        -       -       -     -
         San Pedro Bay                   -         -         -      -         -      -           -    1 5           -     1 5        -       -       -   100
         Alamitos Bay                    -         -         -      -
         Anaheim Bay                     -         -         -      -
         Santa Monica Bay                -         -         -      -
         Morro Bay                       -         -         1      1         -      -           1       1          2       2                     100    100
         Monterey Bay                    -         -         -      -         1     <1        <1         1          1       1                     100    100
         Elkhorn Slough                  -         -         -      -         -      -           -       -          -       -                        -     -
         San Francisco Bay               -         -         1      1         -      -        1 6     1 6         1 7     1 7                     100    100
         Central San Franciscol          -         -         -      -         -      -        65      65          65      65                      100    100
         San PablolSuisun Bays
         Drakes Estero                   2         2         1      1         -      -                   -          3       3        71     77       29    23
         Tomales Bay                     -         -         5      5         1      1                   1          6       7        -       -    100    100
                                                                                                                                                                 O
         Eel River
         Humboldt Bay                                        5      5                         12      12          16      16                      100    100
         Klamath River
         Rogue River
         Coos Bay                        3         1         6      7                -           2       3        1 1     1 1        27    1 1       73    89
         Umpqua River                    3         2         -     <1                1           3       2          6       6        56    41        44    59


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      00
      Q) Pacific (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)

           Estuary                              Approved             Conditional         Restricted             Prohibited                Total          % Approved                % HL
                                               1985      1990       1985 1990           1985     1990          1985    1990          1985      1990        1985 1990          1985    1990
           Siuslaw River                                                                                           2        -             2         -                          100        -    0
           Alsea River                                                                                             2        -             2         -                          100        -    0
           Yaquina Bay                             2         -         -          2                                2        2             4         4       56                     44   100
           Siletz Bay                              1         -         -          -                             <1          -             1         -       68       -             32     -
           Netarts Bay                             2         2         -          -                                -        -             2         2       100     100            -      -
           Tillamook Bay                           -         -         7          7                                3        3             9         9          -     -         100      100
           Nehalern River                          2         2         -          -                             <1          2             2         3       88      49             12   51
           Columbia River                          -         -                                                              2             -         2          -     -             -    100
           Willapa Bay                          87        85                                        2              3        3          90        90         97      95             3      5    14
           Grays Harbor                            -         -        43      43            -       -            17         17         60        60            -     -         100      100
           Puget Sound                          34         34         <1          2         -       -            22         27         57        63         60      53             40   47
           Hood Canal                              9         8         2      <1            -      <1              1        2          12         11        79      76             21   24
           Skagit Bay                           17           3        < 1     < I           -      26              7        7          24        36         71       8             29   92
           Other                                             -         -                                                    4             1         4       63      10             38   90
           Total                               162       139          71      73            2      30          158       186          393       428         42      33             58   67
           National Total                   11,401   10,863        1,462    1,571         636    462         3,127    4,257        16,626   17,153          69      63             31   37

           Abbreviations: HL, harvest-limited; -, no acreage.
           Note: Non-shellfish/Non-productive classifications totaling 2,288,000 acres in 1985 and 2,442,000 acres in 1990 are not shown. Sub-estuaries are in italics.







                                                                            Appendix C: Classification by Estuary


                                Alaska and Hawaii













                                                                                               3
                                                                                       4
                                                                                                          2

                                                                                    5












                                                                                    HAWAII









                                            Alaska Shellfish-Growing Areas
                                            1 Southeast
                                            2 Yakutat
                                            3 Prince William Sound
                                            4 Cook Inlet
                                            5 Kodiak


















                                                                                                                        81















            Alaska and Hawaii (Acres x 1,000) a

            State/Area                         Approved            Conditional        Restricted         Prohibited            Total       % Approved            %HL
                                                                                                                                                                              QL
                                             1985     1990        1985     1990      1985 1990        1985     1990        1985    1990     1985 1990         1985 1990

            Alaska
             Southeast                         -       31           -        -          -      -         -        -          -         31            100
             Yakutat                           -       <1           -        -          -      -         -        -          -         -                -                     to
             Prince William Sound              -          2         -        -          -      -         -        -          -         2             100
             Cook Inlet                        -        13          -        -          -      -         -        -          -         13     -      100
             Kodiak                            -      151           -        -          -      -         -        -          -         151    -      100
             Other                             -          -         -        -          -      -         -        -          -         -      -         -                     ZI

            Alaska Total                       0       197          0        0          0      0         0        0          0         197    0      100        0        0
            Hawaii (All Areas)                                                                                    18                   18                            100
            Hawaii Total                       0          0         0        0          0      0         0        18         0         18     0      100        0    100
            National Total                 11,401   10,863       1,462    1,571       636    462      3,127    4,257    16,626   17,153       69       63      31      37
            Abbreviations: HL, harvest-limited; -, no acreage.
            Note: Non-shellfish/Non-productive classifications for Alaska totaling zero acres in 1985 and 7,000 acres in 1990 are not shown. Hawaii did not have Non-shellfish/Non-
                  productive acreage in 1985 or 1990.
            a. Alaska and Hawaii are located in the Pacific region but are listed seoarately since they are not oart of NOAA's National Estuarine Inventory.















         North Atlantic (Acres x 1,000)
         Estuary                                             Point                                Nonpoint                                      Upstream
                                              STp   CSO        DD       IND        SEP       URO ARO          WL      STG         STP     CSO URO ARO              WL
         Passamaquoddy Bay                       4      -         -       -            2                      <1
         Englishman Bay                          3      -         -       -            -
         Narraguagas Bay                         -      -         -       -            1
         Blue Hill Bay                           -      -         -       -         <1
         Penobscot Bay                        39        -      <1         2         39          7
         Muscongus Bay                           4      -         -     <1             3        2
         Sheepscot Bay                        15        -         -       6         12          1       -        -     <1
         Casco Bay                            23        -         -       -         10          2       -        -     17
         Saco Bay                                8      -         -       1         <1          4
         Great Bay                               2      -         -       1            2        1
         Merrimack River                         2      -         -     <1          <1       <1               <1       <1            2
         Masachusetts Bay                     89        9         -       2            1     12               <1         4           -      -          1     -
         Boston Bay                           2        11         -       6         <1       29                  1     28            -      -          -     -
         Cape Cod Bay                         71      <1       <1       <1             2        3       1        6       2           -      -          -     -       -
         Other                                21      <1          -       3         19       14         4     12         4           -      -          -     -       -
         North Atlantic Total                238      20          -     21          91       75         5     19       55            2      -          3     -
         % Harvest-Limited Acreage            68        6         0       6         26       21         1        5     16            1      0          1     0       0
         National Total                     2,299    382    1,011    1,047        2,325    2,385     699    1,552    1,125       1,337     142    1,013     312    269
         % Harvest-Limited Acreage            36        6      16       16          36       37       11      24       18           21      2        16      5       4
         Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant; CSO, combined sewer outfall; DID, direct discharge; IND, industry; SEP, septics; URO, urban runoff; ARO, agricultural runoff;
                       WL, wildlife; BTG, boating; -, no acreage affected.
         Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics





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         Middle Atlantic (Acres x1,000)
                                              --------- --
         Estuary                                         Point                               Nonpoint                                    Upstream
                                                                    IND                  URO ARO                              STP CSO URO            ARO WL
                                           STP CSO         DD                     SEP                     WL      BTG
                                      ----------                                                    ... .... ...... .. . ... ....... ... .... .. . .. .. .. .... . ..... . .
         Buzzards Bay                         10     4     <1        <1              8     11       -       8        9          11       -       10           10
         Narragansett Bay                     23     7        9        6             2       7      1     <1         16         11       -       17           -       "t)
         Gardiners Bay                        1      1        -        -             1       1      1       2        1            -      -        -           -
         Long Island Sound                 139      84        7        9             10   122       2       8        46         49       3        9           2
         Connecticut River                    4      -        -        -             -       -      -       -        5            2      -        -           -
         Great South Bay                      <1     -        -        -             5     41       3       6        29           -      -        -
         Hudson River/Raritan Bay          173     128     68        16              7    157       4       -        1            -      2        4
         Barnegat Bay                         -      -        -        -             1     16       -       -        13           -      -        1
         New Jersey Inland Bays               -      -        -        -             5     19       -       6        11           -      -        -
         Delaware Bay                         25     -        -        3             29    19    30       35         4            5      -        -
         Delaware Inland Bays                 4      -        -        -             3       5   <1         -        <1           -      -        -
         Chincoteague Bay                     1      -        -        1             1       -   <1         -        2            -      -        -
         Chesapeake Bay                       17     -               11              24    40    36       26         36         10       -      15
         Patuxent River                       -      -                 -             -       -      -       -        -            -      -        -
         Potomac River                        6      -     <1          1             9     <1    18       <1         4            -    <1         -
         Rappahannock River                   3      -        -        1             10    < 1   12         -        12           -      -        -
         York River                           1      -        -        5             2     < I   < I      < 1        6            -      -        -


                                                                                             .... .. . ...... .. .. .. . .. . .















         Middle Atlantic (Acres x1,000) (cont.)

         Estuary                                       Point                              Nonpoint                                 Upstream
                                          STP   CSO       DD      IND         SEP     URO   ARO      WL      BTG         STP    CSO     URO    ARO   WL
         James River                       181    -        -      155           3      158      9       -     130           16             16           16
         Chester River                       1    -        -      < 1           5      < 1      7       7     < 1            -              -
         Choptank River                      2    -        -        -           -        -      9       1       -            -
         TangierlPocomoke Sounds             2    -        -      <1            <1       -      6       6       2            -
         Other                              51    -        -      16            8      59       4       7     34             -              -           -
         Middle Atlantic Total            644   224        84     224         133      655  142       112     361          104     5       72     1    28
         % Harvest-Limited                  53    18       7      18            11     54      12       9     30             9     0        6     0      2
         National Total                  2,299   382    1,011   1,047        2,325   2,386  699     1,552   1,125        1,337   142    1,013   312   269
         % Harvest-Limited                  36    6        16     16            36     37      11      24     is            21     2       16     5      4

         Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant; GSO, combined sewer outfall; DID, direct discharge; IND, industry-, SEP, septics; URO, Urban Runoff, ARO, agricultural runoff
                     WL, wildlife; BTG, boating; no acreage affected.
         Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics.







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         South Atlantic (Acres x 1,000)
                                                                                                  - --- -- ------
         Estuary                                     Point                                 Nonpoint                                    Upstream
                                          STP    CSO       DD     IND           SEP    URO    ARO      WL      BTG           STP 6SO        URO   ARO     WL
         Albemarle/Pamlico Sounds          100     -        -      74              22    11    147     145         25                                            0
         PamlicolPungo Rivers                 6    -        -        1             7       4    49        3        1
         Neuse River                       32      -        -        1             1     32       5       -        1
         Bogue Sound                          3    -        -        2             2     16     21      <1         6           <1
         New River
                                              9                                    9     <1     <1                 <1
         Cape Fear River                   14                        4             2     14       -                15           -      -      -      -     -
         Winyah Bay                           3                    13              -       3      -                -            5      -      5      -    19
         N. Santee/S. Santee Rivers           -    -       <1      <1              <1      -      -     14         <1           -      -      -      -     -
         Charleston Harbor                 22      -        -      22              19    22       -       -        22                                      -
         St. Helena Sound                  <1      -        -        -             <1    <1       1     <1         <1                                     <1
         Broad River                          8    -        -        1             -       -      1       -        1
         Savannah River                    31      -        -      31              1     31       1       1        -           -3             2
         Ossabaw Sound                        -    -        -        -             <1      -      -       9
         St. Catherines/Sapelo Sounds         -    -        5        -             21    <1       4     23         21                                      4
         Altamaha River                    12      -        -        -             12      -      -       -        12                                     12
         St. Andrew/St. Simons Sounds         5    -        -      23              4       4      4       1        4
         St. Marys /Cumberland Sounds         -    -        -        -             -       -      -       -        -















         South Atlantic (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)

         Estuary                                     Point                                 Nonpoint                                    Upstream
                                          STP    CSO      DID     IND          SEP     URO   ARO      WL      1BTG           STP   CSO     URO    ARO    WL
         St. Johns River                     4     -        -        -            4       4     -        4        -
         Indian River                      90      -        -        -          125     105     -      68       15
         Biscayne Bay                        -     -        -        -            -       -     -        -        -
         Other                             35      -        -        7           59      45     2      37       23
         South Atlantic Total              374     -        5     179           288     291    235     306     146              9     -       7     0    35
         % Harvest-Limited                 44      0        1      21            34      34     28     36       17              1     0       1     0     4
         National Total                  2,299   382    1,011    1,047        2,325   2,385    699   1,552    1,125        1,337    142  1,013    312    269
         % Harvest-Limited                 36      6       16      16            36      37     11     24       18            21      2     16       5    4
         Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant; CSO, combined sewer outfall; DD, direct discharge; IND, industry; SEP, septics; URO, urban runoff; ARO, agricultural runoff;
                      WL, wildlife; BTG, boating-, no acreage affected.
         Note@ Sub-estuaries are in italics






















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    200 Gulf of Mexico (Acres x 1,000)                                                                                                                                        IN
                                                                                                                                          - ----------
         Estuary                                           Point                                   Nonpoint                                        Upstream
                                              STP   CSO       DO       IND           SEP      URO    ARO       WIL      BTG               STP CSO URO         ARO     WL

         Florida Bay
         SouthTen Thousand Islands
         North Ten Thousand Islands             6     -          -        6
         Rookery Bay                          17      -          -     17                -        -    -          -         -
         Charlotte Harbor                     35      -          -        1           66       35      -        40       23
         Caloosahatchee, River                  -     -          -        -              -        -    -
         Sarasota Bay                         18      -          -        -           23       23      -          -      23
         Tampa Bay                            53      -          -        8           16       38      -        10       <1
         Suwannee River                         6     -          -        -           182      116     4       176          -
         Apalachee Bay                          -     -          -        -           24       11      -        25          1             -     7
         Apalachicola Bay                       8     8          2        8           141      10      -       139          8             131   -                     141
         St. Andrew Bay                       55      -          -     36             38       42      -        34       <1               -     -                      -
         Choctawhatchee Bay                   65      -          -        -           69       65      -        75          -
         Pensacola Bay                        56      -          -     88             56       49      -        13          -
         Perdido Bay                            -     -          -        -              -        -    17         -         -
         Mobile Bay                           <1      -          -        -           <1          -    <1         -         -             -     3       211    211     -
         Mississippi Sound                    112     -          -     39             16       36      -        45      129               3     3        10      12    -
         Lake Borgne                            -     -          -        -              4        -    -          -         -             24    10       24       -    -
         Lake Pontchartrain                   44      -      383          -              -     427     -          -         -             383   -          -      -    -
         Breton/Chandeleur Sounds               -     -        21         -           66          2    18       19          9             57    -        57     <1     <1
         Mississippi River                    47      -          -     47                -     47      -          -      47               -     -          -      -    -
                                                                                                                                          .......... . . .... . .... ...















           Gulf of Mexico (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)

           Estuary                                        Point                                 Nonpoint                                      Upstream
                                             STP   CSO       00      IND           SEP      UA0  ARID      WL      BTQ            STP   CSO     URO ARO        WL
           Barataria Bay                        3     -        1        -             2         -  19         1        -            -     -        -      -    -
           Terrebonne/Timbalier Bays            1     -      21         -           21          -    -        2        -            2     -        -      -    -
           Atchfalaya/Vermilion Bays          11   203       483      13           483          -    -     351         1          530     -      465      -    -
           Calcasieu Lake                       -     -        4        -           <1          1  21       39         9            -     -        7      -    3
           Sabine Lake                          -     -        -        -             -         -    5        3        -            2     -        -      -    -
           Galveston Bay                     104      -        -      45           255      89     195      78      18              -   114        10  114     -
           Brazos River                         2     -        -        6             -         2    2        5        -            -     -        -      2    2
           Matagorda Bay                      10      -        1      14            56          1  17         9     37              -     -        -      14   -
           San Antonio Bay                    16      -        -        -           64          4    -        -     12              -     -        -     80    64
           Aransas Bay                        28      -        -        -             7         6    3      31         3            -     -        -      2    -
           Corpus Christi Bay                 30      -        -        -           17      24       -        -        -            -     -        -      -    -
           Upper Laguna Madre                   3     -        -        -             1         3    -        -        7            -     -        -      -    -
           Baffin Bay                           -     -        -        -           71          -    -        -        -            -     -        -      -    -
           Lower Laguna Madre                   9.    -        -      <1              -         8    -        -        7            -     -        -      -    -
           Other                             234      -        4     201            85      237      -      20      173            42     -        9      -    -
                                                                                                                                _11,174 131       M    435   -210
           Gulf of Mexico Total              973   211       926     M            1,763  -1,276- 301      1,115     507
           % Harvest-Limited Acreage          27      6      25       14            48      35       a      30      14             32     4        22     12   6
           National Total                   2,299  382     1,011    1,047         2,325   2,385    699    1,552   1,125          1,337  142     1,013  312    269
           % Harvest-Limited Acreage          36      6      16       16            36      37     11       24      18             21     2        16     5    4
           'Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant CSO, combined sewer outfall; DD, direct discharge; IND, industry; SEP, septics; UR0,urbarf-runoff; ARO, agricultural runoff,-
                       WL, wildlife; BTG, boating; no acreage affected.
           Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics





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          Pacific (Acres x 1,000)

          Estuary                                        Point                                  Nonpoint                                    Upstream
                                            STP CSO          DID      IND         SEP      URO    ARO       WL      EITG          STP   CSO      UR 0  ARO     WL    9<%
          Tijuana Estuary                      -     -        -        -
          San Diego Bay                        -     -        -        -
          Mission Bay                          -     -        -        -
                                                                                                                                                                     Q
          Newport Bay                          -     -        -        -
          San Pedro Bay                        -     -        -        15                    15                       15
          Alamitos Bay                         -     -        -        -                      -                        -
          Anaheim Bay                          -     -        -        -
          Santa Monica Bay                     -     -        -        -                                               -
          Morro Bay                            -     -        -        -                      1      -        2        1
          Monterey Bay                         1     -        -        -            -        <1      -      <1       <1
          Elkhorn Slough                       -     -        -        -            -         -      -        -        -
          San Francisco Bay                    2     -        -        7            -         9      -        -        8
          Central San Franciscol               -     -        -        65           -         -      -        -        -
          San PablolSuisun Bays
          Drakes Estero                        -     -        -        -            -         -      I        -        -
          Tomales Bay                          1     -        -        -            6         1      1        -        1
          Humboldt Bay                         9     -        -        -            5         -     17      17         -
          Klamath River                        -     -        -        -            -         -      -        -        -
          Rogue River                                         -        -            -         -      -        -        -
          Coos Bay                                            5        -            3         7      -        -        2            1















           Pacific (Acres x 1,000) (cont.)
           Estuary                                             Point                                      Nonpoint                                         Upstream
                                                     STP CSO       OD        IND           SEP URO ARO                WL      BTG              STP CSO URO ARO                 wL
           Umpqua River                              2                                       2          3                         3                1             <1
           Siuslaw River                             -                                       -          -                         -                -               -

           Alsea River                               -                                       -          -
           Yaquina Bay                               1                                       2          1                         1
           Siletz Bay                                -                                       -          -                         -
           Netarts Bay                                                                       -          -                         -
           Tillamook Bay                             -                                       -          -      8         -        1
           Nehalem River                             <1                                      2          -      -         -        -

           Columbia River                            -                        -              -          2      -         -        -
           Willapa Bay                               3                        3              2          3      -         -        -
           Grays Harbor                              17                      17              -          17     -         -        -            43                43
           Puget Sound                               25                      13              2          25   <1          2        8                -               -
           Hood Canal                                -                        -              2          -    < 1      <1          1
           Skagit Bay                                9                                                                   -        -
                                                                              3            30           7    14
                                                                                                                                                                                     M
           Other                                     3                        -              -          I    <i       <1          -
                                                                                                                                                                                     Q@
           Pacific Total                             74    -          6     123            57           92   41       21         41            45       -        43       -      -   i;1
           @4 Haevott-Limited                        26    0          2      43            20           32   14          7       14            16       0        15       0      0
           National Total                      2,299     382    1,011     1,047          2,325     2,38s    699     1,552    1,126           1,337    142     1,013     312   269
              ftlrvimt@Limlted                       36    6        16       16            36           37   1 1      24         18            21       2        16       5
           Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant; CSO, combined sewer outfall; DD, direct discharge; IND, industry; SEP, septics; URO, urban  runoff; ARO, agricultural runoff; a'
                         WL, wildlife; BTG, boating; -, no acreage affected.
           Note: Sub-estuaries are in italics



                                                                                                                                                                                     M














            Alaska and Hawaii (Acres x 1,000) a
            State/Area                                             Point                                             Nonpoint                                           Upstream
                                                     STP CSO DD                   IND               SEP URO ARO                   WL BTG                 STP CSO URO ARO WL
                       ... .. .. .... ...        . .. ... . . ... ... .. . .. ... .. . . . .... .. . ..... .. ...                              . . ... .... .....
            Alaska
             Southeast                                  -       -         -         -
             Yakutat                                    -       -         -         -                                                                                                                zz
             Prince William Sound                       -       -         -         -
             Cook Inlet                                 -       -         -         -
             Kodiak
             Other

            Alaska Total

            % Harvest-Limited

            Hawaii (All Areas)                          1                           6                            18                            6
                                          - - - -- -- ---                                                                                            -------------- - -
            Hawaii Total                                1                           6                            18                            6             -       -          -       -      -
            % Harvesi-Limited                           6       0         0        33                  0       100       0          0        33              0       0          0       0       0
            National Total                         2,299      382     1,011     1,047             2,325      2,385    699     1,552       1,125        1,337       142    1,013      312     269
            % Harvest-Umitod                          36        6         16       16                36         37      11        24         18            21         2       16        5       4

            Abbreviations: STP, sewage treatment plant;'CSO, combined sewer ouffall; DD, direct discharge;         IND, industry; SEP, septics; URO, urban runoff;     ARO, agricultural runoff;
                            WL, wildlife; BTG, boating; -, no acreage affected.
            a. Alaska and Hawaii are located in the Pacific region but are listed separately since they are not part of NOAA's National Estuarine Inventory.















          Landings by State (Pounds x 1,000)
          RiVion/State,                                    Oyster Landings                                                              Clam Landings
                                        1985          1986         1987         1988         1989                   1985          19"          1987         1988          1989

          North Atlantic
           Maine                          49          138          116            75           69                   4,486         5,171        4,457        3,105         2,962
           New Hampshire                    0           0            0             0            0                        0.             0           0             0            0
           Massachusetts                  46            88           80           40           44                   10,570        9,466        6,806        6,974         5,375
          Total                           95          226          196          115          113                    15,056        14,637       11,263       10,079        8,337

          Middle Atlantic
           Rhode Island                     0           6            2             1            2                   5,973         5,677        4,977        4,352         4,073
           Connecticut                  864           891          537       1,090         1,932                       845           754          596         312           710
           New York                     299           264          174          324          339                    10,010        14,633       5,879        5,795         9,233
           New Jersey                   293           105            15            0            0                   63,438        62,137       61,809       56,095        71,106
           Delaware                       39            0            0             0            0                        21           24           20           36            34
           Maryland                   3,518         6,828        3,649       2,060         2,160                    23,306        21,456       23,192       21,598        8,422
           Virginia                   4,526         5,600        4,822       2,927         2,000                    13,989        13,125       9,723        11,991        8,885   2@,
          Total                       9,539        13,694        9,199       6,402         6,433                   117,582      117,806      106,196       100,179      102,463   -00

          South Atlantic
           North Carolina               546           745        1,426          913          530                    1,335         1,357        1,207          998         1,295
           South Carolina             1,038           568          315          228          294                       194          242           172         202           108
           Georgia                        37            4            9            35           46                         7           17           34           64            12  1b
           Florida                        28          108          110          152          134                    1,536         1,442        1,096          711           306   QS@
          Total                       1,649          1,425       1,860       1,328         1,004                    3,072         3,058        2,509        1,975         1,721













          Landings by State (Pounds x 1,000) (cont.)
          Region/State                                    Oyster Landings                                                                  Clam Landings

                                       1985         1986         1987          1988         1989                       1985          1986        1987           1988,        1989

          Gulf of Mexico
            Florida                    4,393        2,021        3,682         2,065        1,479                       215            66            16            37           18
            Alabama                    1,277           946           88          103             10                         0             0            0            0              0
            Mississippi                1,193        1,202          132           147           100                          0             0            0            0              0
            Louisiana                  14,123       12,316       10,769      21,917         8,673                           0             0            0            0              0
            Texas                      5,134        5,649        2,897         2,270        1,980                           0             0            0            0              0
          Total                        26,120       22,134       17,568      26,502         12,242                      215            66            16            37           18

          Pacific Coast
            California                 1,209        1,131        1,138         1,172        1,458                       129            79            123          440           40
            Oregon                       424           428         425           458           402                         99          79            35            45           64
            Washington                 5,992        8,705        9,453         8,791        8,982                      8,155         9,062       9,963          9,941        8,645
            Alaska                        NIA          NIA         NIA           NIA           106                      434            418           71           240           204
          Total                        7,625        10,264       11,016      10,421         10,948                     8,817         9,638       10,192        10,666        8,953
          h, atio naI Total            45  028      47,7  43     39, 839     44,768         30,740                  1 44,742      145,204      1 30  175    1 22,936       121  492
          Abbreviations: N/A, Not Available.
          Note: No commercial landings were reported in Hawaii between 1985 and 1989.














          Landings by State (Pounds x 1,000) (cont.)
          Region/State                                  Scallop Landings                                                              Mussel Landings
                                     1985         1986         1987         1988         1989                      1985         1986          1987         1988         1989

          North Atlantic
           Maine                        813          721       1,239        1,311        1,715                     6,123        6,640        6,615        6,269        4,759
           New Hampshire                   0           17            0            0            0                        0             0           0            0            0
           Massachusetts             9,890        10,964       16,878       17,170       18,553                     NIA          NIA           NIA          NIA          NIA

          Total                      10,703       11,702       18,117       18,481       20,268                    6,123        6,640        6,615        6,269        4,759

          Middle Atlantic
           Rhode Island                   22            0            0            0            0                        0             0           0            0            0
           Connecticut                    10           72         130             0            0                        0             0           0            0            0
           New York                     269          187          107          267           40                      154          274          108          800          585
           New Jersey                1,754        2,143        3,451        3,164        3,986                          0             0           8            5           14
                                                                                                                                                                            0
           Delaware                        0            0            0            0            0                        0             0           0            0
           Maryland                        0            2           62           85           20                        0             0           0            0            0
           Virginia                  2,868        4,261        7,291        6,545        7,702                          0             0           0            0            0
          Total                      4,923        6,665        11,041       10,061       11,748                      154          274          116          805          599

          South Atlantic
           North Carolina               456          301          155            39           84                        0             0           0            0            0
           South Carolina                  0            0            0            0            0                        0             0           0            0            0
           Georgia                         0            0            0            0            0                        0             0           0            0            0
           Florida                   9,917        1,575        10,934       12,039       3,350                          0             0           0            0            0
          Total                      10,373       1,876        11,089       12,078       3,434                          o             0           0            0            0














           Landings by State (Pounds x 1,000) (cont.)
           RegionlState                                     Scallop Landings                                                               Mussel Landings
                                         1985         1986         1987          1988         1989                      1985          1986         1987          1988          19891 0.
           Gulf of Mexico                                                                                                                                                            rn
            Florida                      N/A             5           19          512          1,511                        0             0            0              0            0
            Alabama                          0           0             0            0              0                       0             0            0              0            0

                                                                                                                                                                                  0
            Mississippi                      0           0             0            0              0                       0             0            0              0
            Louisiana                        0           0             0            0              0                       0             0            0              0            0
            Texas                            0           5             0            0              1                       0             0            0              0            0
                                                                                                                                                                                     Zl
                                                                                                                                                                                     0
           Total                             0           10          19          512          1,512                        0             0            0              0            0  2-@
           Pacific Coast                                                                                                                                                             12

            California                       0           0             0            0              0                       0           335          287           151           163
            Oregon                       205             26          14             8              0                       40           38            49           49            60
            Washington                      13           9           10             15           90                      255           297          284           486           479
            Alaska                       677           645           677         233            313                        0             0            0              0           65

           Total                         895           680           701         256            403                      295           670          620           686           767
           National Total              26,894       20,933       40,967        41,388       37,365                     6,572         7,584         7,351        7,760         6,125
           Abbreviations: N/A, Not Available.
           Note: No commercial landings were reported in Hawaii between 1985 and 1989.







                                                                                                   Appendix F. State Shellfish Programs


                                         State                               Dollars per Acrea,b                 Total Classified Acres
                                                                                                                 per Sampling Station
                                                                             1985            1990                  1985-            1990
                                         Maine                               0.07            0.08                     413             714
                                         New Hampshire                       0.22            1.66                     619             481
                                         Massachusetts                       0.96            0.33                  1,357            3,474
                                         Rhode Island                        0.22            2.03                     567             567
                                         Connecticut                         0.24            1.05                  1,057              888
                                         New York                            0.16            0.53                  1,096              718
                                         New Jersey                          1.48            1.20                       99            167
                                         Delaware                            0.26            0.25                  1,679            1,686
                                         Maryland                            0.36            0.44                     982           1,937
                                         Virginia                            0.34            0.38                     414             788
                                         North Carolina                      0.10            0.27                     863           1,610
                                         South Carolina                      1.45            1.39                     750             775
                                         Georgia                             0.17            313                      949             740
                                         Florida                             0.38            0.29                     772             969
                                         Alabama                             0.01            0.31                  4,597            4,818
                                         Mississippi                         0.06            0.48                  3,608            3,122
                                         Louisiana                           0.19            0.18                  4,797            4,243
                                         Texas                               0.16            0.17                  4,113            2,751
                                         California                          2.65            2.71                 13,750            2,150
                                         Oregon                              1.61            2.08                     451             367
                                         Washington                          4.19            5.73                       97               33
                                         Alaska                              N/A               N/A                    N/A           1,165
                                         Hawaii                              N/A               N/A                    N/A           2,250
                                         Average                             0.34            0,47                     754             847
                                         Abbreviations: N/A, Not Available.
                                         a. Dollar values are in constant 1989 values.
                                         b. Bold values indicate numbers lower than the median.


























                                                                                                                                                       97







                                                                                  Appendix G: Glossary


                           Approved Waters Shellfish may be harvested for direct marketing.

                           Classified Shellfish-Growing Waters Shellfish-growing waters classified for
                           commercial harvest.

                           Coliform Bacteria Coliform bacteria are present in sewage and are used to
                           indicate possible the presence of enteric pathogens of sewage origin. Fecal
                           coliform bacteria are a subset of the total coliform bacteria group, and indicate
                           specifically the presence of fecal material.

                           Conditionally Approved Waters Shellfish-growing waters meet approved
                           classification standards under predictable conditions. These waters are opened
                           to harvest when water quality standards are met and are closed at other times.

                           Depuration Shellfish from restricted areas are placed in tanks through which
                           bacteria-free water is circulated, usually 48 hours before shellfish are removed
                           for marketing.

                           Enteric Pathogens Enteric Pathogens are human intestinal bacteria or viruses
                           that cause gastroenteritis or hepatitis.

                           Estuarine Drainage Area (EDA) An EDA is the land and water component of a
                           watershed that drains directly into estuarine waters.

                           Harvest-Limited Waters The sum of shellfish-growing waters classified as
                           conditionally approved, restricted, and prohibited.

                           Landings Landings refer to the quantity of shellfish harvested.

                           National Shellfish Sanitation Program The NSSP is a cooperative program of
                           the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, shellfish-producing states, and the
                           shellfish industry designed to control harvest and distribution of molluscan
                           shellfish for human consumption.

                           Offshore Waters The non-estuarine shellfish-growing waters that extend
                           seaward to the three-mile limit are classified as offshore waters.


                           Prohibited Waters Prohibited shellfish-growing waters may not be harvested for
                           direct marketing. Until 1986, relaying was allowed in prohibited waters.

                           Relay The transfer of shellfish is permitted from restricted waters to approved
                           waters for natural cleansing, usually for a minimum of 14 days before harvest.




                                                                                                        99







                             Appendix G: Glossary


                             Restricted Waters The shel If ish -growing waters may be harvested only if
                             shellfish are relayed or depurated before direct marketing.

                             Sanitary Survey The NSSP requires that a sanitary survey include the evalua-
                             tion of all factors determining the classification of waters, including actual and
                             potential pollution sources, hydrographic and meteorologic conditions, and
                             coliform bacteria sampling results.

                             Shellfish The Register includes only edible species of oysters, clams, scallops,
                             and mussels.


                             Shellfish Culture Culture includes the propagation, planting, cultivation, and
                             harvest of shellfish.











































                             100
























                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ..........















































                                                                                                                                                                   Courtesy of James L. Amos, National Geographic Society




















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                                                                                       411




                                                                                                                        July 1991
                                                                                                1111111 Nat lonalShollfish "02i@,tcr
                                                                                                  of, Clas."ifiod F'tuarine Water


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