APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
Recreational fishing 
Recreational clam digging is a very popular activity. 
Large numbers of people and large amounts of clams are an 
volved. One NMFS study estimated that recreational catch of 
clams in 1970 was about 40 million pounds (including shells). 
The number of recreational clam diggers in some States is very 
large. For example, New Jersey licensed about 15,000 recrea- 
tional clam diggers in 1975. In Maine there are an estimated 
10,000 recreational clam diggers. 
Recreational clam digging has had a widespread impact 
on the commercial clam fisheries in some States. For example, 
in California, Oregon, and Washington, commercial harvesting 
for clams has been severely restricted and prohibited in 
Many areas in order for the recreational clam digger to have 
access to the clam resource. The number of clam diggers in 
California is not known but it is considerable. On one week- 
end, over 150,000 people were seeking clams on Pismo Beach. 
During a 2-1/2-month period, some 4 million pounds of clams 
were taken from a 4-mile stretch of this beach. In 1971 
Oregon reported a recreational catch of 3 million clams. An- 
nually, some 300,000 individuals make 650,000 to 775,000 
trips to the Washington ocean beaches and take home from 6 
to 3 milion sazomiclams- 
Management controls 
Clam fisheries are managed by State or local governments. 
Regulations vary by fishery and by State. The Federal Govern- 
ment has declared the surf clam a continental shelf fishery 
resource. Beyond this action, there is no direct Federal re- 
gulation of clam harvesting. The surf clam fishery has been 
unregulated in some States, including Maryland and Virginia. 
As of July 1, 1976, Maryland has a License Requirement and 
has given the State's Department of Natural Resources 
authority to adopt rules and regulations regarding the catch 
and landings of surf clams. New York, New Jersey, and Dela- 
ware have both license and operational requirements. For ex- 
ample, New York has a minimum shell size regulation; Delaware 
has seasonal closure regulations; and New Jersey has regu- 
lations covering such aspects as seasonal closure, limitations 
on gear size, minimum shell size, and the time during the day 
when fishing is permitted. To help coordinate State manage- 
ment of the surf clam, the States and NMFS, through the State- 
Federal Fisheries Management Program, initiated a cooperative 
surf clam management effort in 1973. Although some improve- 
ments have been made, progress has generally been slow. 
In New Jersey and New York, the center of the hard clam 
fishery, harvesting of hard clams in public areas is re- 
stricted to use of hand implements, such as raking and 
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