Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 135 



Herring Bay. 

 (Chart of Natural Oyster Bars, No. 4.) 



Herring Bay, as bounded by a line connecting Parker Point 

 (near the mouth of Weem Creek) and Holland Point, covers an 

 area of 2,334 acres, of which 907 acres are natural oyster bars. 

 Holland Point and Long bars are considered in this report, 

 however, as situated in the Bay, and after excluding the parts 

 of these bars which extend into Herring Bay, the total area of 

 natural oyster bars in the section under consideration is re- 

 duced to 439 acres. This includes 99 acres which, by an order 

 of the Court, dated Sept. 21st, has been added to the natural 

 bars of Herring Bay, in response to an appeal by oystermen 

 against the decisions of the Commission and in accordance with 

 the results of a re-survey made by the Commission, on August 

 15 and 16, 1907, assisted by three local representatives, one of 

 whom was appointed by counsel for the plaintiffs to accompany 

 the Commission during the re-survey. All but twenty-eight 

 acres of the oyster ground thus added to the natural bars had 

 never been covered by the original survey, due to an oversight 

 on the part of the local assistant.* 



The natural bars of Herring Bay cover a considerable area of 

 soft muddy bottom, the largest bar being located near and in 

 the channel. Near the shore the bottom is hard and sandy. 

 The density of the water during October, 1906, was 1.012 and on 

 the 15th and 16th of August, 1907, it was 1.0068. The density 

 of the water in this region probably fluctuates from about 1.005 

 during the spring to about 1.013 during the dry seasons of the 

 year. Observations on the velocity of currents have been too 

 few to yield reliable results. 



There are probably ninety acres of barren bottom in Herring , 

 Bay which are suitable for oyster culture. 



Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis Roads. 

 (Charts of Natural Oyster Bars, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4.) 



The waters- contiguous to Anne Arundel County contain six- 

 teen natural oyster bars designated for tonging operations 



*Seepage 204. 



