﻿CHESAPEAKE 
  FISHERIES 
  

  

  153 
  

  

  Alewives 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  21.1 
  million 
  pounds 
  were 
  12.8 
  million 
  (38 
  percent) 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1969, 
  and 
  

   the 
  smallest 
  production 
  since 
  1961. 
  The 
  decline 
  in 
  landings 
  followed 
  a 
  delayed 
  spring 
  migration 
  

   caused 
  by 
  cool 
  weather. 
  When 
  the 
  fish 
  finally 
  appeared, 
  they 
  were 
  in 
  small 
  schools 
  and 
  therefore 
  

   not 
  captured 
  as 
  readily 
  as 
  their 
  usual 
  full 
  schools. 
  The 
  smaller 
  or 
  broken 
  schools 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  

   caused 
  by 
  foreign 
  vessels 
  that 
  were 
  fishing 
  herring 
  offshore 
  from 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay. 
  

  

  Surf 
  clams 
  . 
  Record 
  landings 
  of 
  14.6 
  million 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  worth 
  $1.6 
  million 
  increased 
  99 
  per- 
  

   cent 
  in 
  volume 
  and 
  73 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969 
  . 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  increase 
  was 
  during 
  the 
  

   first 
  7 
  months 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  when 
  the 
  fleet 
  was 
  fishing 
  for 
  inshore 
  clams. 
  The 
  abundance 
  of 
  inshore 
  

   clams 
  encouraged 
  the 
  fishery, 
  but 
  packing 
  firms 
  finally 
  refused 
  to 
  buy 
  them 
  because 
  of 
  a 
  slow 
  mar- 
  

   ket 
  .■ 
  Beginning 
  in 
  August, 
  the 
  fleet 
  fished 
  the 
  offshore 
  clam 
  beds 
  . 
  The 
  surf 
  clam 
  fishery 
  has 
  been 
  

   gradually 
  moving 
  south 
  in 
  its 
  search 
  for 
  clam 
  beds. 
  In 
  1970, 
  19 
  dredge 
  vessels 
  landed 
  at 
  Ocean 
  

   City, 
  Md. 
  , 
  and 
  8 
  other 
  vessels 
  landed 
  at 
  Chincoteague 
  and 
  Oyster, 
  Va. 
  Several 
  plants 
  shucked 
  

   surf 
  clams 
  in 
  both 
  Maryland 
  and 
  Virginia. 
  Other 
  plants 
  in 
  Maryland 
  packaged 
  frozen 
  surf 
  clam 
  spe- 
  

   cialties. 
  

  

  Spot 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  6.4 
  million 
  pounds 
  were 
  5.4 
  million 
  (502 
  percent) 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1969, 
  and 
  sec- 
  

   ond 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  record 
  harvest 
  of 
  8.7 
  million 
  pounds 
  taken 
  in 
  1949. 
  The 
  fishery 
  began 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  

   spring, 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  landings 
  were 
  made 
  from 
  July 
  through 
  September. 
  September 
  was 
  the 
  month 
  

   of 
  greatest 
  production--the 
  fish 
  were 
  taken 
  as 
  they 
  began 
  to 
  move 
  back 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay. 
  

   Catches 
  were 
  made 
  principally 
  by 
  pound 
  nets, 
  haul 
  seines, 
  and 
  gill 
  nets. 
  

  

  Soft 
  clams 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  6 
  . 
  2 
  million 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  worth 
  $2.4 
  million 
  declined 
  21 
  percent 
  in 
  

   volume 
  and 
  13 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  The 
  production 
  decline 
  resulted 
  from 
  over- 
  

   fishing 
  in 
  some 
  areas 
  and 
  also 
  from 
  clam 
  mortalities 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  summer--caused 
  by 
  low 
  oxygen 
  

   levels 
  on 
  the 
  bottom. 
  The 
  average 
  price 
  per 
  pound 
  increased 
  from 
  35 
  cents 
  in 
  1969 
  to 
  39 
  cents 
  in 
  

   1970. 
  The 
  entire 
  production 
  was 
  from 
  Maryland. 
  Few 
  stocks 
  of 
  soft 
  clams 
  exist 
  in 
  Virginia, 
  which 
  

   had 
  no 
  commercial 
  clam 
  fishery 
  in 
  1970. 
  

  

  Hard 
  clams 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  1.9 
  million 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  worth 
  $1.2 
  million 
  declined 
  30 
  percent 
  in 
  

   volume 
  and 
  29 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  The 
  harvest 
  was 
  the 
  smallest 
  since 
  1960. 
  

   The 
  decline 
  was 
  caused 
  largely 
  by 
  lack 
  of 
  consumer 
  demand. 
  The 
  littleneck 
  and 
  cherrystone 
  sizes 
  

   were 
  still 
  popular, 
  but 
  the 
  chowder 
  sizes 
  were 
  not. 
  The 
  chowder-sized 
  clam 
  usually 
  was 
  about 
  40 
  

   to 
  60 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  landings, 
  but 
  in 
  1970, 
  competition 
  from 
  the 
  surf 
  clam 
  almost 
  eliminated 
  

   the 
  chowder-size 
  clam. 
  Packing 
  firms 
  changed 
  from 
  buying 
  hard 
  clams 
  to 
  buying 
  surf 
  clams--with 
  

   a 
  noticeable 
  effect 
  on 
  the 
  fishery 
  in 
  the 
  Chesapeake 
  area. 
  

  

  Sea 
  scallops 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  750,000 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  worth 
  $995,000 
  declined 
  46 
  percent 
  in 
  quan- 
  

   tity 
  and 
  32 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  The 
  harvest 
  was 
  the 
  smallest 
  since 
  1964. 
  De- 
  

   clining 
  stocks 
  of 
  sea 
  scallops 
  and 
  less 
  fishing 
  effort 
  were 
  the 
  principal 
  reasons 
  for 
  the 
  smaller 
  

   production. 
  In 
  1970, 
  14 
  vessels 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  sea 
  scallop 
  fishery 
  and 
  made 
  120 
  trips. 
  In 
  1969, 
  20 
  

   vessels 
  made 
  201 
  trips. 
  The 
  average 
  trip 
  in 
  1970 
  landed 
  6,300 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  — 
  compared 
  with 
  

   6,800 
  pounds 
  of 
  meats 
  per 
  trip 
  in 
  1969. 
  In 
  1970, 
  the 
  average 
  exvessel 
  price 
  was 
  $1.33 
  per 
  

   pound 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  26 
  cents 
  per 
  pound 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  

  

  Other 
  information 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  shellfish 
  in 
  the 
  bay 
  and 
  ocean 
  areas 
  of 
  Maryland 
  and 
  Vir- 
  

   ginia 
  are 
  shown 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  this 
  section. 
  Additional 
  data 
  maybe 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  monthly 
  and 
  annual 
  

   Maryland 
  and 
  Virginia 
  landings 
  bulletins 
  published 
  by 
  the 
  Statistics 
  and 
  Market 
  News 
  Division 
  in 
  

   cooperation 
  with 
  the 
  respective 
  States. 
  Information 
  on 
  the 
  daily, 
  monthly, 
  and 
  annual 
  production 
  

   of 
  fishery 
  products 
  in 
  selected 
  areas 
  of 
  these 
  States 
  is 
  available 
  in 
  reports 
  published 
  by 
  theNMFS 
  

   Fishery 
  Market 
  News 
  Office 
  at 
  Hampton, 
  Va 
  . 
  

  

  Acknowledgments 
  . 
  The 
  following 
  organizations 
  helped 
  collect 
  the 
  data 
  appearing 
  in 
  this 
  section: 
  

   Maryland 
  Fish 
  and 
  V^Aildlife 
  Administration, 
  Natural 
  Resources 
  Institute 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Mary- 
  

   land; 
  Virginia 
  Marine 
  Resources 
  Commission, 
  Virginia 
  Institute 
  of 
  Marine 
  Science; 
  and 
  Potomac 
  

   River 
  Fisheries 
  Commission. 
  

  

  