584 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



the boat in such a way as to permit the boat to swing freely along its length. 

 The rake is lowered from the bow of the boat and the teeth are worked into the 

 sand or mud of the bottom. The rake is then pulled toward the stern of the boat 

 and lifted out of the water. The contents are dumped onto the culUng board, or 



(.Courtesy Providence Jomnal-Bulletin) 

 Fig. 27-2. Dredge boat digging clams with the chain link dredge. 



the clams are picked out of the basket and the debris is thrown overboard. As 

 one spot becomes exhausted of clams, the boat is moved along its anchorage and 

 a new spot is dragged. This method of clam fishing is usually carried out be- 

 tween ebb and flow tides to avoid the excessively deep water at high tide. 



Where clams are plentiful on private oyster grounds, the ordinary oyster dredge 

 may be used. For deep-water beds, such as occur near Nantucket, a special nar- 

 row, long-toothed, "deep-water clam dredge" has been developed. 



The hard-clam fishery is essentially a summer fishery; the season in Massachu- 

 setts lasts for 7 months, usually starting the last of March and ending about the 

 first of November. 



