Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 39 



half of which is known to have been productive of oysters in former 

 time. 



EAST NECK BAY. 



(Shown on chart of natural oyster bars No. 29.) 



East Neck bay is the name given by the Commission to those 

 waters situated between the mouths of Chester river and Swan 

 creek, east of Swan Point bar and the line which separates the 

 waters of the Chesapeake bay in which dredging may be carried on, 

 from the waters along the Kent County shore where oysters may be 

 taken with tongs only. 



Within these waters eight natural oyster bars charted to contain 

 2,238 acres have been reserved to the public oyster fishery. Bot- 

 toms were pointed out by the local assistant for survey and ex- 

 amination, however, which cover not less than 3,000 acres, and it 

 was evident that the entire strip of bottoms, five and one-half miles 

 in length and averaging more than three- fourths of a mile in width, 

 situated along the shore between the mouths of Chester river and 

 Swan creek, has been productive of oysters until quite recently. 

 At four places on the surveyed area, grounds aggregating about 600 

 acres were found on which the stock of oysters and cultch had been 

 practically exhausted. 



Soft and sticky mud bottoms are confined to a very narrow strip 

 bordering the channel south of Swan Point sand bar, and to the 

 middle and edges of the channel between Swan Point sand bar and 

 the Kent County shore. At other places the area surveyed has a 

 bottom of hard sand. The soft bottoms of the channel north of 

 Huntingfield point were stocked here and there with oysters, but 

 below this point the channel is barren. 



The water over the oyster grounds had a density of 1. 005-1. 007 

 during the latter part of July, 1909. The maximum range of the 

 tide at Love Point Light from July 9th to August 4th was 2.4 feet, 

 the mean range, .88 foot. 



SWAN CREEK. 



(Shown on charts of natural oyster bars Nos. 28 and 29.) 



The waters of Swan creek are considered by the Commission to 

 enter East Neck bay along a line connecting Wind Mill point and 

 Swan point. It has a wide, bay-like entrance into which Tavern 



