Table 1. — Population density groups by area 



Other Areas Sampled 



With the exception of the three areas 

 already discussed, fishermen reported that 

 much of Nantucket Sound is unsuitable for 

 jet dredge operations. Several attempts 

 were made, however, to locate new beds 

 of hard clams. For instance, two tows were 

 made off Falmouth but the bottom there 

 was rocky and unsuitable for efficient jet 

 dredge operation. Four large, old clams 

 were caught. These had the same general 

 size as clams elsewhere in the Sound. 

 Five tows were made in the area between 

 Bishop and Clerks Shoal and Wreck Shoal, 

 but only rocks were obtained. 



Echo sounder tracings indicated that 

 a strongly rippled bottonn exists between 

 the Horseshoe Shoal-Monomoy Point area 

 and the Tuckernuck Shoal -Great Point area. 

 These ripples reached 5 feet in height and 

 are probably the result of rapid tidal cur- 

 rents. One tow was attempted just south of 

 Handerchief Shoal, but the tide was so swift 

 that the vessel was forced off course and 

 the dredge did not operate successfully. 

 The strong tidal currents and shifting bot- 

 tom probably make these areas completely 

 unsuitable for hard clam setting and sur- 

 vival. 



SIZES OF HARD CESMSXAtJGffF 



More than 7,000 hard clams, of the 

 nearly 16,000 caught with the unlined jet 

 dredge, were measured. The average size 

 was 111 mm. (4 3/8 inches). The sizes 

 were uniform (fig. 7), with 95 percent of 

 the clams between 94 mm. (3 3/4 inches) 

 and 127 nnm. (5 inches). The smallest clann 

 caught was 61 mm. (2 3/8 inches), although 

 all noticeably snnaller clams were picked 

 out of any sample rennaining on deck after 

 the bushel to be measured had been obtained. 

 The largest hard clam measured was 144 

 mm. (5 5/8 inches). 



SAMPLES FOR SMALL HARD CLAMS 



Six samples were taken with a jet 

 dredge lined to retain smiall clams. The 

 three samples from the Horseshoe Shoal- 

 Monomoy Point area (fig. 5) contained only 

 large clams. The small amount of sediment 

 clinging to the dredge indicated a pre- 

 dominantly sandy bottom. The three sam- 

 ples from the Tuckernuck Shoal -Great Point 

 area had only large hard clams. However, 

 large masses of sand-mud sediments were 

 retained in the dredge. Search through 



