140 



CHESAPEAKE FISHERIES 



Lobsters, American. Landings were 150,000 pounds valued at $270,600— declines of 52 percent in both 

 quantity and value compared with 1974. The quantity landed was the smallest since 1968. Virginia landings 

 declined from 274,000 in 1974 to 91,000 in 1975; however, Maryland landings (59,000 pounds) increased 59 

 percent. Virginia fishermen landed 61 percent of the total, taken almost exclusively by pots. Vessels in 

 Virginia made 44 trips during 1975 compared to 83 trips in 1974. The major company in this fishery had sold 

 the last of its vessels and ceased operations by the end of 1975. 



Menhaden. Landings of 321.9 million pounds declined 16 percent compared with 1975 and were 30 percent 

 below the average of the previous 5 years. The value of menhaden landings was $7.9 million— 31 percent less 

 than in 1974. Purse seines took 87 percent of the landings; pound nets caught most of remaining landings. 

 Purse seines operated mostly in Chesapeake Bay, but worked in the Atlantic Ocean in the fall. About 16 

 percent of the purse seine catch was taken in the ocean. 



Other finfish. Landings of bluefish were 3.6 million pounds valued at $272,000— declines of 4 percent in 

 quantity and 11 percent in value compared with the record landings in 1974. These were the second largest 

 landings on record for bluefish in this area. Croaker landings, 5.4 million pounds valued at $565,900, 

 increased 231 percent in quantity and 154 percent in value over 1974. After many years of reduced landings 

 the fishery for this species appears to be coming back to its former quantities. Striped bass landings were 4.2 

 million pounds valued at $1.8 million in 1975. Compared with 1974, this was a 30-percent decrease in volume, 

 but a 17-percent increase in value. The average price per pound at dockside increased from 25 cents in 1974 

 to 42 cents in 1975. Landings of 5.0 million pounds of gray sea trout valued at $633,000 increased 43 percent 

 in volume and 21 percent in value over the previous year. Fluke landings, 4.3 million pounds valued at $1.2 

 millionj increased 13 percent in quantity and 30 percent in value compared with 1974. Shad landings were 1.3 

 million pounds valued at $354,000, a 26-percent decline in quantity, but a 29-percent increase in value. Shad 

 landings are the lowest on record for this area. 



Oysters. Landings were 22.6 million pounds valued at $18.1 million— a 10-percent decrease in volume, but a 

 3 -percent increase in value compared with 1974. The volume was the smallest since 1965. Oyster landings in 

 Maryland (16.4 million pounds) declined 10 percent compared with 1974. This drop in volume can be 

 attributed to a very poor spat faU in 1972 due to the effects of tropical storm Agnes' dumping too much 

 freshwater and silt into the bay at the height of the spawning season. That year class would have entered the 

 fishery in the fall of this year. Virginia landings of 6.2 million pounds declined 7 percent in quantity, but 

 increased 3 percent in value. The reduced catches are reflected in the increase in exvessel prices. In the 

 fall, exvessel bushel prices rose $1 to $2 above the spring prices and averaged $5 to $7 per bushel. Wholesale 

 gallon prices also increased an average of $2 per gallon in the fall and averaged $12.50 for standard oysters. 



The Virginia seed oyster fishery harvested 478,470 bushels valued at $880,610. Compared with 

 1974, this was a 2-percent decrease in quantity and 20-percent in value. 



Sea scallops. Landings of 1.3 million pounds of meats valued at $2.3 million increased 46 percent in volume 

 and 83 percent in value compared with 1974. Almost all the scallops were landed in Virginia, where dredge 

 vessels made 116 trips and took 70 percent of the catch and trawl vessels made 61 trips and caught 30 

 percent. 



Other information. Condensed summary data on the operating units and landings by States appearing on the 

 following pages have been published previously in Current Fishery Statistics No. 8485. Landings of fish and 

 shellfish in the bay and ocean areas of Maryland and Virginia are shown at the end of this section. Additional 

 data may be found in the monthly and annual landings bulletins for Maryland and Virginia published by the 

 Data Management and Statistics Division in cooperation with the respective States. 



Acknowledgments. The following organizations helped collect the data appearing in this section: Fisheries 

 Administration, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Virginia Marine Fisheries Commission; Virginia 

 Institute of Marine Science; and Potomac River Fisheries Commission. 



