APPENDIX III APPENDIX IIT 
capacity. While no limits are placed on the amount of 
gear in public oyster areas, States generally regulate the 
type of gear allowed. For example, patent tongs and oyster 
dredges are prohibited in most public areas in one State, 
and where they are allowed, daily catch quotas are in effect 
and dredge size is limited. Dredges have to operate under 
Sail power except for 2 days a week when motor power is 
allowed. 
State officials explained that to meet management 
goals for public areas harvesting regulations, such as 
protecting and enhancing oyster resources, maintaining 
employment opportunities and a traditional culture for 
large numbers of people, and minimizing conflicts among 
users of the resource are necessary. These goals are not 
specifically stated in laws or regulations, but can be 
inferred from their effects on the oyster fishery. In 
contrast, regulation of private growing areas involve 
relatively few restrictions. The capability to harvest 
oysters is also impaired by restrictive State regulations 
and the protective attitudes of the fishermen in the gulf. 
The prohibition against dredges in the tricounty 
area around Apalachicola Bay, Florida, is the result of a 
desire to spread the available resource among as many 
persons as possible and eliminate improper use of gear 
which damages natural reefs. Texas prohibits the use of 
more than one dredge per boat, of a size no greater than 
36 inches across, to discourage exploitation by Louisiana 
oystermen. 
On the Pacific coast, the extensive use of hand labor 
inhibits growth and development of the oyster fishery. 
Product development and processing 
An oyster's shell is hard to open and this makes 
processing oysters in a raw form difficult. In the 
Atlantic and Gulf States, processing is done mainly by hand 
which is not easily available, particularly in periods when 
demand and supplies are at high levels. Processors ex- 
plained that many persons do not want to shuck oysters 
because wages are relatively low, employment is seasonal, 
and the work is laborious and often messy. They also 
believe that competition from other types of jobs, welfare, 
and unemployment compensation limit the number of people 
willing to shuck oysters. Due to labor supply problems 
the need for machine processing of raw oysters is increasing, 
but development has been hindered by the wide variations in 
oyster size and shape. 
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