THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF NEW JERSEY. 519 



value of the oyster crop, includiug that of the western shore, is about $2,000,000. 

 Fifty years ago, when the population was sparse and the means of communicatiou 

 limited, the business was restricted in extent. In early times it consisted in pick- 

 ing up oysters from the natural beds loft exposed by the falling tide and catching 

 them with tongs. About forty years ago the business was commenced of taking the 

 young natural oysters and planting them upon the grounds in the deep waters of the 

 bay, where they were left to grow until of marketable size. 



"The places where the oysters were planted were marked off by stakes, and the 

 lands thus selected were situated under the waters of the bay in Maurice River 

 Cove. The title to the lands thus appropriated to the cultivation of oysters was in 

 the State, and they were taken without any legislative permission. By a common 

 consent of the persons engaged in this business, the staking out of unoccupied 

 lands in Maurice River Cove and the planting of oysters thereon gave the holder 

 exclusive right to the possession of the lands so appropriated, and the invasion of 

 this right has always been vigorously resented. The territory thus set apart by 

 common consent for the cultivation of oysters is in the vicinity of 50 square miles, 

 or about 32,000 acres, in extent. These lands are held without compensation to the 

 State, and no tax(>s are levied upon them, or upon the oysters cultivated thereon." 



From the time the planting and cultivation of oysters commenced the territory 

 thus used for the purpose has been confined to that i)art of Delaware Bay included 

 in and adjacent to Maurice River Cove, a locality where, generally speaking, oysters 

 do not naturally propagate. The great body of the bay north of the cove, extend- 

 ing for a distance of some 35 miles in length and of an average width of between 

 4 and 5 miles, constitutes the natural oyster beds and grounds where the oysters 

 spawn and grow without cultivation. It has been the custom to dredge upon this 

 latter territory for the seed oysters used for i)lantiug in Maurice River Cove. 



By the twelfth section of the act approved March 8, 1882, it becomes unlawful to 

 take oysters from any of the natural oyster beds or grounds in Delaware Bay north 

 of a line running direct from Egg Island light-house to Cross Ledge light-house 

 from June 15 to Apiil 1 in the succeeding year. This legislative action confirmed 

 the long-recognized custom of dividing the bay into two parts, all south of the line 

 thus established being appropriated for the cultivation of oysters and the territory 

 north of it being retained to secure natural seed oysters for planting purposes. This 

 line was, by the act approved April 3, 1893, moved farther north to the mouth of 

 Straight Creek, and is generally called the " southwest line." 



A few miles north of the " southwest line " is what is known as Fortesque Cove, 

 and in that vicinity grants or leases of lands under water have been made from time 

 to time by the riparian commissioners of the State under the act ajiproved March 

 31, 1869, and the supplement thereto. These grants or leases are 15 in number, 1 

 being made in 1879, 3 in 1886; 9 in 1892, and 1 in 1893. They embrace a frontage on 

 the exterior lino of 13,334 fi^o feet, extend out from the shore an average length 

 of 2,876 feet, and include about 973 acres of land under water, and the total amount 

 of consideration paid the State therefor was $12,143.96. They were all made to 

 owners of the upland adjoining high-water mark, who under the provisions of the 

 eighth section of the riparian act are entitled to a grant or lease upon paying to 

 the State such reasonable compensation or rental as the riparian commissioners 

 may fix. 



The occupation by private parties of these lands has been a matter of irritation 

 and dissatisfaction to the men engaged in the oyster business as represented bj'- the 

 Oyster Association. They look upon the privilege of taking oysters from the bay 

 north of the "southwest line" as a natural right. On the other hand, the riparian 

 owners claim that, having purchased or leased these lands from the State in good 

 faith and for a valuable consideration, they are entitled to the exclusive possession 

 of them. The controversy culminated in the spring of 1893, when, under the advice 

 of the counsel of the Oyster Association, and on notice to the riparian owners, 

 a boat was sent npon these disputed grounds and a few oysters taken, the object 



