Commercial Mussel Fishery — Illinois River 



Historical Perspective. Comparison of mussel catch statistics be- 

 fore and after construction of the nine-foot channel first necessitates 

 a brief historical sketch concerning the changing status of this fishery. 

 The pre-dam mussel fishery passed through two phases: a pearl-hunting 

 phase and a pearl-button- industry phase. 



By 1890 people were hunting for pearls in Illinois waters and from 

 1889 to 1897 the pearl fisheries of the state produced at least $250,000 

 ($1,771,750 in 1977 dollars) worth of pearls (Kunz, 1897: 395). The 

 Illinois River was not, however, a prominent pearl-hunting river of the 

 state (Danglade, 1914: 8). 



The first American fresh-water shells for button manufacture were 

 probably taken from the Illinois River in 1872 and 1876 (Danglade, 1914: 

 7). Around 1910 more than 2,600 boats were being used for mussel fish- 

 ing between Peru and Grafton (Danglade, 1914: 8). 



Mussels have been taken from the Illinois River during the post-dam 

 period for use in both button manufacture and, more recently, the pearl- 

 culture industry. Renewed interest in the commercial harvest of fresh- 

 water mussels occurred in Illinois in the early 1960's in response to 

 new markets established by the Japanese pearl-culture industry (Lopinot, 

 1968: 1; Starrett, 1971: 267). The pearl culturists round off chunks of 

 freshwater shell, and insert them into salt-water pearl oysters. Over a 

 period of several years, the pearl oyster deposits a thin layer of nacre 

 over the nucleus furnished by the freshwater shell. Pearl culture re- 

 quires starter material from thick-shelled mussel species only found in 

 the Mississippi River, its major tributaries, and a river system in Red 

 China (Lopinot, 1967: 15; Starrett, 1971: 267). The pearl-culture in- 

 dustry had obtained most of its shells from the Tennessee River system, 

 but the decline of this resource led the industry to look elsewhere for 

 shells (Starrett, 1971: 267). 



Pearl-culture-related shell production from the Illinois River peaked 

 in 1965 when 1,159 tons were harvested (Lopinot, 1968: 10). The supply 

 of freshwater shells exceeded the demand by Japanese buyers for a number 

 of years, and prices fell. While shells have not provided a worthwhile 



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