FISHERIES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 



85 



The Oyster Fishery op Maryland in 1!KM. 



Crab. — In contrast to the decline of the oyster industry in the 

 past few years is the increasing importance of the Maryland crab 

 fishery. Crabs are in growing demand from all parts of the country 

 owing to the fact that for a number of years the supply in more 

 northern waters has considerably decreased. Crisfield and Deal 

 Island continue to be the principal shipping points for soft crabs, 

 while Oxford, Cambridge, and Mount Vernon furnish most of the 

 hard crabs. From Cambridge and Mount Vernon the crabs are 

 shipped alive, while at Oxford most of them are utilized by extract- 

 ing the meat and shipping it in tin buckets. This latter feature of 

 the industry has increased in importance since 1901 owing to a more 

 constant supply, brought by local boats from Virginia waters. Hard 

 crabs are caught on trot lines; soft crabs are taken mainly with 

 scrapes and scoop nets, the former being operated entirely from 

 sailboats and the latter from small skiffs and by men wading. 

 The price of soft crabs has advanced somewhat in the last few 

 years, and fishermen now stop catching when the price falls below 1 

 cent per crab. At Crisfield the oyster industry, which formerly was 

 the town's chief support, has been superseded in importance by the 

 cra'b trade. As many as 1,000 boxes holding 15 dozen soft crabs 

 each are sometimes shipped from this point by express in one day. 

 With scarcely any outlay aside from his boat and scrapes or scoop 

 nets, an expert crabber, aided by a small boy, can now make more 

 than Si 00 a month during the season. 



Clam. — Clams are taken only in Chincoteague and Sinepuxent 

 bays off Worcester County and in Tangier Sound near Crisfield. 

 Owing to the more profitable crab fishery there has been quite a 

 decrease in the number of clammers from the latter town. Most of 

 them are negroes. 



Shad. — Although there has been a conspicuous falling off in the 

 shad catch in the rivers of Maryland since 1901, the increase in Chesa- 



