SCALLOP INDUSTRY OF NORTH CAROLINA 



175' 



In the fir,st report (biennial) of the North Carolina State Fisheries 

 Commission Board, published in 1916, it is stated that large quantities 

 of scallops were taken from Bogue Sound, the vicinity of Harkers 

 Island, the mouth of Newport River, and other%ections, and were 

 shipped daily from Beaufort and Morehead City in the winter 

 months at good prices. In the second report (1918), after data from 

 tax returns had become available, the scallop industry is described as 

 one of the leading shellfish industries In the single season of 

 1917-18 more than 54.000 gallons of scallop meats were shipped in 

 spite of the dearth of scallops from the neighborhood of Harkers 

 Island, long an important source of supply. Bogue Sound is stated 

 to be the principal source and to have suffered comparatively little 

 diminution from the long, hard freeze of the winter of 1917-18, 

 which was highly destructive in the Harkers Island ,section. The 

 price one shipper received (1917-18) varied from $2.25 to $4.82 per 

 gallon. There were 612 licensed scallop fishermen. The modern 

 industry evidently was well under way. 



EXTENT AND VALUE OF THE PRESENT-DAY FISHERY 



State fishery statistics are reported biennially. Figures for quan- 

 tity of scallops are not estimates, but are calculated from the tax 

 paid per gallon. Naturally they are not greater than they should be. 

 Scallops used locally, for which no tax is paid, are not included. 

 Data given, unless otherwise stated, are for a 2-year period. From 

 December. 1917, to May, 1928, the quantity varied from 38,607 to 

 165,338 gallons, and the value, according to State estimates, from 

 $115,821 to $496,014. 



In the State report for 1922-1924 it is estimated that 2,000 men and 

 women found employment in the scallop industry. This probably is 

 a conservative estimate. The average number of scallop fishermen 

 employed during this 2-year period, as shown by paid license fees, 

 was 707 per year. The estimated dollar value of boats and apparatus 

 actually in use in the scallop fishery, as shown by the third, fourth, 

 fifth, and sixth reports, was as follows. A lower estimate does not 

 mean a smaller investment, but simply fewer boats used in the fishery 

 during the period. It is also to be noted that the boats used in the 

 scallop fishery are used for crabbing and fishing also. 



Estimated value of boats and airparatus used in scallop fisher i/ (from State 



reports) 



