IV-184 



From Colonial times, when perhaps the more important economic 

 activities were purely Bay-oriented (e.g., fishing and foreign 

 trade), industry and trade has clustered about the Bay and its 

 tributaries following the growth of population in these areas and 

 the concurrent growth of a pool of skilled labor. Within the 

 total socioeconomic environment of the area, seven estuarine- 

 dependent product-producing areas are examined to show some of the 

 methods involved in deriving a value for a given use. The 

 categories include commercial fisheries, defense establishments, 

 recreation, Bay transportation, marine-oriented industry and 

 commerce, research and education, and waste disposal. 



Table IV. 3. 7 shows the production, value and productivity of the 

 Narragansett Bay fisheries for 1939 and 1965. In order to 

 illustrate the former importance of a species, the oyster is 

 included although it is no longer commercially important. 



There has been a reversal in the relative importance of the fin 

 fisheries and shellfisheries over the 25-year period due partially 

 to the decline in the oyster fishery resulting from the disappearance 

 of the wild oyster from Narragansett Bay for unknown reasons. 

 Improvement in finfishing methods together with a lack of improve- 

 ment in shellfishing methods have also contributed to this 

 reversal . 



