BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 143 



industry. The industry has been slow to adopt modern methods of oyster 

 culture through private enterprise or as a public venture, and many acres of 

 potentially productive bottom continue to lie idle with little or no increase 

 in total production. In the discussion that follows, an attempt will be made 

 to point out the factors responsible for the general decline in production 

 of oysters over the long period of years and for the neglected development 

 of a potentially great industry. 



HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY 



Oysters were undoubtedly an important part of the diet of the early 

 settlers in the coastal regions of North Carolina. The oysters were harvested 

 for a local market and supplied the needs of the small cities within access of 

 the coastal regions. According to Ingersoll (1887), Wilmington and New 

 Bern were the two important market centers for oysters prior to 1880. 

 Winslow (1886) states that the beds in the region about Ocracoke Inlet are 

 probably the most important in the State and supply chiefly the needs of 

 the New Bern market. Other markets existed at Beaufort, Washington, and 

 other small cities in eastern North Carolina. The lack of rapid transporta- 

 tion facilities and distance from the large centers of population were 

 undoubtedly factors in keeping the industry from developing. Oysters were 

 not shipped from North Carolina to the northern areas, for the abundance 

 of oysters in Long Island Sound, Delaware Bay, and Chesapeake Bay 

 supplied the needs of such cities as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. 



The industry in North Carolina did not become of importance until 1889, 

 when a scarcity of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay region led to the estab- 

 lishment of a number of branch houses at various points in the coastal areas. 

 With the branch houses came the experienced Chesapeake oystermen and 

 their dredging fleet. The influx of these oystermen had a marked influence 

 on oyster production in Pamlico Sound through the introduction of the 

 more efficient dredging and tonging methods used in INIaryland and Virginia. 

 The production figures for INIaryland and North Carolina for this period 

 show the decline in Maryland to coincide with the sudden increased produc- 

 tion for North Carolina (Table i). 



The exploitation of Pamlico Sound by the northern fleet was brief, for 

 laws were immediately passed shortening the season and prohibiting non- 

 residents from dredging in the State. A marked decline in production re- 

 sulted for the seasons of 1893 and 1896, probably because of the restrictive 

 legislation, plus the depression of 1893. Meanwhile, local residents adopted 

 the dredging methods that had been introduced. When the season was 

 lengthened in 1897, production of oysters greatly increased. In 1898, 

 according to Grave (1904), new and extensive beds were discovered two 

 miles or more offshore in Pamlico Sound. More oysters were harvested that 



