coast northward from Point Conception, Calif. 

 The report presents new information on the 

 distribution and abundance of sand dollars along 

 the coast of Oregon and Washington. 



Materials and Methods 



The Seattle-based research vessel John N. 

 Cobb of the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 took large numbers of D. excetitricua whiledredg- 

 ing during two clam surveys along the Wash- 

 ington and Oregon coast in the summer of 1969. 

 The dredge used during the surveys was an 

 east coast type hydraulic clam dredge (Figure 



1) which weighed approximately 1,021 kg 

 (2,250 lb) and had a blade 91.4 cm (36 inches) 

 wide with a maximum digging depth of 35.6 

 cm (14 inches). Each dredge haul was of 10 min 

 duration, made from north to south, and cov- 

 ered an average distance of 0.56 km (0.3 nau- 

 tical mile). The bottom area "swept" by each haul 

 was approximately 508 m- (5,472 ft-). Hauls 

 were made only on sandy bottom areas believed 

 to be free of rocks. 



The first survey was conducted in June along 

 the Washington coast between Cape Flattery 

 and the Columbia River. Forty-six hauls were 

 made: 9 at 9-11 m, 15 at 13-15 m, 8 at 16-18 m. 



Figure 1. — A modified east coast type hydraulic clam dredge with a catch of 

 over 1,000 lb of sand dollars being lifted board the RV John N. Cobb. 



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