Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 203 



The above recommendation is based upon the fact just stated 

 and the further fact that much of the bottom suitable for oyster 

 culture thus far opened for lease is located in the bold waters 

 of the Chesapeake Bay, Rocomoke and Tangier Sounds. 



DREDGING ON LEASED LOTS. 



Section 112 of the Haman Oyster Culture Law has been in- 

 terpreted to mean that dredging or scraping operations cannot 

 be carried on on lots leased for oyster culture situated in 

 districts designated for tonging operations, but that planted 

 oysters in such districts can be removed with tongs only. 



Much of the barren bottom in Anne Arundel and Somerset 

 counties best adapted for oysier culture is located in districts 

 set aside for tonging operations and will not be leased for 

 oyster culture until planters are unrestricted in the methods 

 to be employed in planting and cultivating oysters. 



Tonging operations, as a method of removing oysters from 

 the bottoms on which they grow, are very slow, as may be seen 

 by reference to the part of this report (page 65), in which the 

 areas are given which it is possible for tongmen to cover during 

 a period of one hundred days of eight hours each, and it cannot 

 be expected that planters will lease bottoms for oysier culture 

 when the entire amount of time which is available for the work 

 of planting and cultivation is needed for gathering oysters. 

 Planters should be able to place their oysters on the market 

 when prices are best and when their oysters are in marketable 

 condition and this cannot be done when tonging is the only 

 method by which they may be gathered. 



The objection raised by oystermen against permitting the 

 use of scrapes or dredges on private grounds in tongmg dis- 

 tricts is that planted grounds situated near natural oyster bars 

 will be made bases from which illicit dredging operations will 

 be carried on on the natural bars. This objection rests upon 

 well-founded fears, many oystermen having signified their 

 intention to lease lots with the object of so using them. 



Believing, however, that the methods of oyster culture may 

 be unrestricted and oyster culture thereby made possible with- 

 out injury to the interests of tongmen, the Commission 



