52 FISHEKIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



fleet in the state. These clams are sometimes sold in Atlantic City 

 for hard clams, and are said to be as edible as the latter, except that 

 they are with difficulty freed from sand. The taste is somewhat 

 sweeter than that of the hard clam. 



Mussel. — Mussels are taken only in Monmouth County, where they 

 are used entirely for food, and in Atlantic County, where a large por- 

 tion of the catch is used for fertilizer. Some are cleaned and shipped 

 in shell from Atlantic City, and a few are opened and sold locally. 



Crab. — Crabs are taken in several of the rivers and estuaries along 

 the coast of New Jersey. In the soft stage they are caught mainly 

 with scoop nets and seines. They are used both for food and as bait 

 on hand lines. In recent years there has been a very noticeable 

 diminution in the catch of soft crabs in New Jersey, and this has 

 resulted in an increased demand upon Maryland and Virginia. In 

 Monmouth County more than one-half the hard-crab catch is taken by 

 vessels using dredges, the season usually extending from November 1 

 to February 15, and the men remaining aboard of the vessel during 

 that time. 



King crab. — Practically the entire king-crab catch is taken in pound 

 nets set in Delaware Bay, off Cape May County. It is sold to factories 

 and converted into fertilizer. This species is more abundant than it 

 was in 1901. 



Lobster. — No special effort to catch lobsters is made in this state 

 south of Point Pleasant, Ocean County, and the fishery in 1904 was 

 carried on chiefly by men hailing from Jersey City, Keyport, and Port 

 Monmouth. A few came from Seabright and Long Branch. 



Squeteague. — This fish, commonly known as "trout," or "weak- 

 fish," is the most abundant of the edible species caught on the New 

 Jersey coast. It is taken chiefly in pound nets and seines, and on 

 lines. It represents the largest part of the pound-net catch. 



Shad. — Shad are taken in the Delaware and Hudson rivers, more 

 than 85 per cent of the state's entire catch, however, being taken 

 in the Delaware. Since 1901 this species has decreased 69 per cent in 

 quantity and nearly 50 per cent in value. The greater part of the 

 Hudson River catch is made by men living down the coast, who move 

 up with their gear every spring and remain during the run of shad. 

 The apparatus commonly used in this stream is the stake gill net, but 

 owing to alleged menace to navigation the government has recently 

 placed certain restrictions upon these operations. It is now neces- 

 sary to secure a permit to fish, and the stakes must be removed at the 

 close of the fishing season. Shad fishing in the Hudson River has 

 been quite profitable in the past, but would now be a total failure if, 

 with the scarcity of fish, there were not the increased prices. A few 

 fishermen living in the southern part of the state, on the Atlantic side, 

 fish for shad in the Delaware River with drift gill nets. By means of 



