﻿SECTION 
  4 
  - 
  CHESAPEAKE 
  FISHERIES 
  

  

  The 
  commercial 
  landings 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  shellfish 
  in 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  States 
  (Maryland 
  and 
  Vir- 
  

   ginia) 
  were 
  a 
  record 
  630.4 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  a 
  record 
  $40.5 
  million 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  276.4 
  mil- 
  

   lion 
  pounds 
  (78 
  percent) 
  and 
  $4.4 
  million 
  (12 
  percent) 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Record 
  landings 
  of 
  

   menhaden 
  were 
  the 
  principal 
  reason 
  for 
  the 
  greater 
  harvest. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  menhaden, 
  landings 
  of 
  

   the 
  following 
  major 
  species 
  increased 
  significantly: 
  hard 
  blue 
  crabs, 
  surf 
  clam 
  meats 
  , 
  oyster 
  

   meats, 
  fluke 
  flounders, 
  gray 
  sea 
  trout, 
  shad, 
  and 
  spot. 
  Major 
  species 
  with 
  smaller 
  landings 
  than 
  

   in 
  1969 
  included 
  sea 
  scallop 
  meats, 
  hard 
  and 
  soft 
  clam 
  meats, 
  alewives, 
  striped 
  bass, 
  and 
  swell- 
  

   fish. 
  

  

  Virginia 
  landings 
  of 
  550.6 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $22. 
  million 
  were 
  87 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  volume 
  

   and 
  54 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  value 
  in 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  area. 
  Menhaden 
  accounted 
  for 
  81 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  

   Virginia 
  landings, 
  followed 
  by 
  hard 
  blue 
  crabs 
  (8 
  percent), 
  and 
  alewives 
  (3 
  percent). 
  Hard 
  blue 
  

   crabs 
  were 
  31 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  Maryland 
  landings; 
  oysters, 
  21 
  percent; 
  and 
  surf 
  clams, 
  17 
  percent. 
  

  

  Fishermen 
  and 
  vessels 
  . 
  There 
  were 
  18 
  ,998 
  fishermen 
  operating 
  1 
  , 
  566 
  vessels 
  of 
  5 
  net 
  tons 
  or 
  more, 
  

   11,638 
  motor 
  boats, 
  and 
  667 
  other 
  boats. 
  Compared 
  with 
  1969, 
  this 
  was 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  1,854 
  

   fishermen, 
  47 
  vessels, 
  1,702 
  motor 
  boats, 
  and 
  45 
  other 
  boats 
  . 
  

  

  Processed 
  products 
  . 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  processed 
  seafood 
  items 
  in 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  States 
  was 
  $100.4 
  

   million--an 
  increase 
  of 
  $21.5 
  million 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Maryland's 
  processed 
  products 
  were 
  

   valued 
  at 
  $58.2 
  million 
  — 
  58 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  area 
  total. 
  In 
  Virginia, 
  processed 
  items 
  were 
  worth 
  

   $42.2 
  million. 
  There 
  were 
  7,811 
  persons 
  employed 
  in 
  465 
  wholesaling 
  and 
  processing 
  plants 
  in 
  

   the 
  two 
  States 
  . 
  

  

  Menhaden 
  . 
  Record 
  landings 
  of 
  449.8 
  million 
  pounds 
  were 
  268.1 
  million 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1969, 
  and 
  

   35.3 
  million 
  pounds 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1959, 
  the 
  former 
  record 
  year. 
  Purse 
  seines 
  accounted 
  for 
  90 
  per- 
  

   cent 
  of 
  the 
  landings. 
  Only 
  4 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  purse 
  seine 
  production 
  was 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Ocean; 
  

   the 
  rest 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  last 
  decade 
  menhaden 
  landings 
  have 
  declined 
  sharply 
  along 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast. 
  

   Virginia 
  has 
  been 
  theonlyState 
  landing 
  them 
  in 
  appreciable 
  quantities 
  — 
  except 
  for 
  abrief 
  fall 
  fish- 
  

   ery 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina 
  waters 
  and 
  a 
  small 
  fishery 
  off 
  the 
  New 
  Jersey 
  coast. 
  Menhaden 
  are 
  used 
  

   principally 
  by 
  reduction 
  plants 
  for 
  processing 
  into 
  meal 
  and 
  oil. 
  In 
  1970, 
  93 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  harvest 
  

   was 
  used 
  for 
  reduction. 
  The 
  rest 
  was 
  used 
  chiefly 
  as 
  bait 
  for 
  hard 
  crabs. 
  

  

  Blue 
  crabs 
  . 
  Hard 
  blue 
  crab 
  landings 
  were 
  67.4 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $4.5 
  million 
  — 
  a 
  gain 
  of 
  10.7 
  

   million 
  pounds,but 
  a 
  decrease 
  of 
  $899 
  ,000 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Landings 
  through 
  the 
  winter 
  dredge 
  

   season, 
  spring, 
  and 
  early 
  summer 
  were 
  good, 
  and 
  the 
  exvessel 
  prices 
  remained 
  firm 
  at 
  about 
  $5 
  

   for 
  a 
  100-pound 
  barrel. 
  Prices 
  were 
  restrained 
  during 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  by 
  competition 
  from 
  

   crabs 
  brought 
  in 
  from 
  southern 
  States 
  and 
  by 
  fairly 
  large 
  inventories 
  of 
  unsold 
  pasteurized 
  crab 
  

   meat 
  . 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  crabs 
  became 
  less 
  abundant 
  because 
  the 
  fishermen 
  began 
  

   depending 
  on 
  the 
  1969 
  year 
  class 
  , 
  which 
  was 
  not 
  great. 
  Virginia 
  authorities 
  lowered 
  the 
  legal 
  size 
  

   limit 
  for 
  hard 
  crabs 
  from 
  5 
  inches 
  to 
  4-3/y 
  inches, 
  measured 
  from 
  spike 
  to 
  spike. 
  This 
  change 
  per- 
  

   mitted 
  the 
  marketing 
  of 
  smaller 
  crabs, 
  but 
  created 
  difficulties 
  when 
  the 
  crabs 
  were 
  shipped 
  out 
  of 
  

   State, 
  especially 
  to 
  Maryland 
  where 
  the 
  size 
  remained 
  at 
  5 
  inches. 
  Many 
  Virginia 
  truckers 
  were 
  

   fined 
  in 
  Maryland 
  for 
  possession 
  of 
  undersized 
  crabs 
  . 
  Picked 
  crab 
  meat 
  prices 
  averaged 
  less 
  in 
  the 
  

   first 
  6 
  months 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  than 
  during 
  the 
  comparable 
  period 
  of 
  1959 
  . 
  Backfin 
  meat 
  averaged 
  about 
  $1 
  

   less 
  per 
  pound, 
  and 
  regular 
  meat 
  averaged 
  from 
  50 
  to 
  7 
  5 
  cents 
  less 
  per 
  pound. 
  During 
  the 
  last 
  

   half 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  however, 
  crab 
  meat 
  prices 
  were 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  in 
  1969. 
  

  

  