Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 61 



CRAB ALLEY BAY. 



(Shown on charts of natural oyster bars Nos. 31 and 32.) 



Crab Alley bay occupies the broad waters included between Crab 

 Alley neck and Cox neck. Its waters are considered in this report 

 to be further limited on the east by the line connecting Norman 

 point with the southernmost point on Parsons Island, and to be 

 separated from Eastern bay by lines connecting the southernmost 

 point on Parsons Island, the northernmost point of Bodkin Island 

 and the southeastern extremity of Cox neck. 



Seven natural oyster bars covering 2,165 acres, have been charted 

 and reserved to the Public Oyster Fishery. Parsons Island bar as 

 charted has about one-half its area within the limits of Eastern bay, 

 but the entire bar is credited in this report to Crab Alley bay. 



Bottoms of hard sand underlie about half of the reserved area. 

 They are found along the eastern and western shores of the bay and 

 in extensive flats above Bodkin Island and south and east of John- 

 sons Islands. Continuous oyster rocks were found only in connection 

 with these hard bottoms, the most extensive and prolific being the 

 one situated west of the sand bar and the wide beach around Nor- 

 man point. This rock forms a part of the area included within the 

 limits of the oyster bars charted as Norman's Fine Eyes and Crab 

 Alley Lumps. Probably more than three-fourths of the soft and 

 sticky bottoms which are found in the off shore or channel portion 

 of the bay are barren, but the distribution of numerous well stocked 

 oyster lumps upon these bottoms is such that it was considered 

 proper to include practically the whole within the limits of the ad- 

 jacent oyster bars. At one place only, that between Bodkin Island 

 bar andParsons Island bar, was the channel found to be entirely 

 barren. 



The depths of water over the oyster bars on the hard bottoms vary 

 from 3 feet to 18 feet, and over the soft areas from 12 feet to 27 

 feet. The density of the water at examination stations during 

 August varied from 1.0084 to 1.0087, an d during November from 

 1. 0128 to 1. 014. 



About 30 acres of the grounds pointed out for survey and ex- 

 amination were found to be exhausted or badly depleted of oysters 

 and cultch. In addition to this area a few acres of barren bot- 

 tom suited to the requirements of oyster culture may be found in 



