392 GEOGRAPHICAL EEVIEW OF THE FISHERIES. 



moucy made by those who engage regularly in the business. A large part of the catch is sent to 

 New York, and the remainder is divided between Philadelphia and the local trade. 



THE FISHERY FOR QUAIIATJGS AND SOFT CLAMS. The quahaug fishery of the district is con- 

 fined largely to Sandy Hook Bay and to the waters about Barncgat Inlet, where the species is 

 taken from low- water mark to a depth of 20 feet. The fishing is chiefly during the summer months, 

 many small vessels from different ports of Earitan Bay fishing about Sandy Hook during the height 

 of the season. Four methods are employed in this fishery, as follows : Dredging, raking, tongiug, 

 and treading. Dredges are used by vessels, usually sloops of from 5 to 30 tons, and also by smaller 

 boats; tongs, similar to those employed in the oyster fishery, are used from small boats; rakes arc 

 used from boats, and by men who wade about upon the shoals; and treading is a method by which 

 the men, who wade in the water up to their waists, feel the clams with their feet. The average 

 fisherman who makes a business of clamming clears from $150 to $200 in a season. Two-thirds of 

 the entire catch is carried to New York by the vessels, and the remainder used locally or shipped 

 to Philadelphia by rail. 



Soft clams are very abundant on the sand and mud flats in the salt water at the mouths of the 

 rivers and in the various bays ; but in the former they are occasionally killed by freshets, so that 

 fishing in such localities often becomes unprofitable for several seasons. It is said that such was 

 the case in Shark River in 1880, when the clammers of that region were obliged to turn their 

 attention to the other fisheries or to visit other places in order to find clams of marketable size. 

 This fishery is prosecuted during the entire year, but it is most extensive during the spring, fall, 

 and winter months, as many of the fishermen turn their attention to the quahaug fishery in 

 summer. The fishing is at present confined largely to Sandy Hook Bay, including the mouths of 

 the Shrewsbury Rivers and to Squan River; and, though the species is very abundant all along 

 the New Jersey coast and may be taken in fair numbers as far south ns Cape Charles, Virginia, 

 Squan River marks the southern limit of the extensive fishing for the species for shipment to the 

 principal markets. A few are, of course, taken at different points farther south lor bait and local 

 use, but no extensive shipments are made to other points, though the business might be carried 

 on with profit as far down as Cape May. 



D. THE COAST FISHERIES OF SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY. 



144. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION. 



THE VARIOUS FISHERY INTERESTS. The fisheries of this district, which includes the coast- 

 line between Barnegat Inlet, on the ocean shore, and Cohansey Creek, on Delaware Bay, are less 

 extensive than those of the district just described. If we exclude the cod fleet at Atlantic City 

 and the small vessels from Delaware Bay that are occasionally employed in the capture of the 

 different species, the fisheries are confined almost wholly to the waters lying between the outer 

 sand bars and the mainland, which are the resort of immense numbers of fish during the summer 

 months. Owing to limited shipping facilities, the commercial fisheries of many localities are little 

 developed, the fishermen engaging in the business chiefly to supply the hotels at the various 

 summer resorts and to furnish food for themselves and their neighbors. Nearly all of them are 

 engaged in oystering and clamming during a considerable portion of the year, while some devote 

 their entire attention to the crab fishery during the summer months. 



