The 1990 National Shellfish Register 



limited waters. The acreage ad- 

 versely affected by septic systems 

 increased from 22 percent to 37 

 percent. Pollution from septic sys- 

 tems is associated with continuing 

 growth in tourism and vacation home 

 development. Also indicative of 

 accelerating pressures from coastal 

 recreation is the increase in waters 

 adversely affected by boating, up from 

 11 to 1 8 percent. 



Recent Trends in Landings. Figure 

 2 shows landings between 1985 and 

 1 989 for the four major species 

 harvested in each region. Data by 

 state are presented in Appendix E. In 

 all regions, commercial harvests 

 declined. By the end of 1990, Gulf of 

 Mexico oyster landings fell to 10.6 

 million pounds, making the Pacific 

 region the leading producer at 10.8 

 million pounds. 



A notable exception to declines is the 

 increase in landings of scallops (non- 

 estuarine) along the Atlantic Coast. 

 This increase generally is attributed to 

 declines in estuarine abundance 

 which has forced many fishermen to 

 harvest offshore areas, and to recent 

 fishing agreements between the U.S. 

 and Canada. Pacific oyster landings 

 have also increased slightly as a 

 result of successful aquaculture. 



Commercial Harvest. Over the last 

 three decades, commercial stocks of 

 wild estuarine shellfish have continued 

 to decline nationwide despite restora- 

 tion efforts such as oyster reef replen- 

 ishment, hatchery operations, and 

 selective breeding. For example, 

 Chesapeake Bay produced more than 



32 million pounds of oysters annually 

 until about 1959 when a sharp decline 

 began. By 1989, only four million 

 pounds were harvested from the Bay, 

 and in 1 990 this dropped further to 3.7 

 million pounds. 



Even with an increase in aquaculture, 

 the American shellfishing industry 

 seems no longer able to meet the 

 Nation's demand for shellfish prod- 

 ucts. Oyster imports increased from 

 21 million pounds in 1970 to 46 million 

 pounds in 1988, and other species 

 show similar trends (Virginia Sea 

 Grant College Program, 1990). 

 Despite price increases, the actual 

 value of all U.S. landings of oysters, 

 clams, and scallops has decreased (in 

 constant dollars) from $368 million in 

 1985 to $360 million in 1989 (National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, 1985; 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 1990). 



Recreational Harvest. In 1985, about 

 four million adults participated in 

 recreational shellfishing for crusta- 

 ceans and mollusks nationwide 

 (NOAA, 1991a). This added up to 

 over 28 million person-days of recre- 

 ational shellfishing activities. Though 

 data are not available on landings, 

 some states estimated that recre- 

 ational landings were higher than 

 commercial landings. Over one-fifth 

 of the fish and shellfish consumed 

 nationwide is derived from recre- 

 ational or subsistence fishing (Na- 

 tional Academy of Sciences, 1991). 

 This high level of participation con- 

 cerns State and Federal officials 

 because they do not have the re- 

 sources to monitor recreational fishing 

 waters adequately. 



