8.6 million pounds of meat, worth $3 mil- 

 lion. The hard clam industry, centered in 

 New England and the Middle Atlantic areas, 

 boasts of a production of over 14 million 

 pounds of meats, valued at over $7 million. 

 The relatively new Atlantic Coast surf clam 

 fishery, centered in New Jersey and New 

 York, has the greatest production, consisting 

 of 25 million pounds of meat valued at $1.7 

 million. 



Methods of harvesting and processing 

 clams differ greatly and are influenced by 

 tradition and State regulations. Soft-shell 

 clams are harvested in the tidal areas of New 

 England by hand, but in the Chesapeake 

 Bay they are scooped up from slightly deeper 

 waters by mechanical dredges. Hard clams 

 are taken by a combination of methods, 

 including hand rakes, tongs, and hydraulic 

 and mechanical dredges. Surf clams, found 

 in the deeper waters, are harvested by jet 

 dredges operated by vessels up to 80 feet in 

 length. 



The soft-shell clam is marketed primar- 



ily as a shucked fresh product, secondarily as 

 "au naturel," and lastly, although in small 

 quantities, as various specialty items. Hard 

 clams are available as fresh in the shell and 

 in various processed forms, of which clam 

 chowder is the most important. Chilled or 

 frozen surf clam meats are used extensively 

 in preparing fried clams, clam chowders, and 

 specialty items. 



The condition of the clam industry varies 

 considerably with type of product and area of 

 production. The New England soft-shell 

 clam fishery is faced with a decreasing supply 

 resulting from natural mortalities, industrial 

 pollution, and overexploitation. On the other 

 hand, the recently developed industry of the 

 Chesapeake Bay area is concerned primarily 

 with developing new and diversified markets 

 for its large production. The hard and surf 

 clam fisheries are relatively stable, but there 

 is a definite and immediate need to deter- 

 mine the limits of the resource. Product diver- 

 sification and development of new preserva- 

 tion methods are needed to expand markets. 



THE BLUE CRAB FISHERY 



The blue crab industry began in the 

 Chesapeake Bay area sometime in the latter 

 part of the 19th century and since then has 

 been an industry of major importance. The 

 total U. S. catch of blue crabs for I960 was 

 approximately I'i'i million pounds, worth 

 slightly more than $9 million to the fisher- 

 men. Crab landings in the Chesapeake and 

 Middle Atlantic states amounted to close to 

 50 percent of the total national landings of 

 blue crabs. Next in order of importance are 

 the South Atlantic and the Gulf areas. 



Over 10,000 fishermen harvest blue 

 crabs. This is generally a one-man operation, 

 using small craft with or without limited 



power. In addition, a large number of people 

 are employed in hand picking the crab meat 

 in 175 to 200 plants ranging from New 

 Jersey to Texas. 



The blue crab fishery is subject to large 

 and unpredictable fluctuations in supply. 

 Methods of processing and handling the 

 product vary greatly from plant to plant. 

 Pasteurization of fresh crab meat has im- 

 proved quality and has permitted more order- 

 ly marketing, Considerable hand labor, how- 

 ever, is still used in processing the product, 

 and operations need to be streamlined to 

 reduce costs of production. 



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