established as the result of a demand for baitworms by party boats 

 fishing for weakfish in Peconic Bay. Initially, clams and mussels 

 had been used for bait in this fishery but when fishermen discov- 

 ered that marine worms worked as well as or better than these baits, 

 a preference for marine worms developed (Schmal 16 ). Although 

 initially sandworms were the most sought after species, it was not 

 long before both sandworms and bloodworms were being dug in 

 areas such as Stony Brook, St. James, Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn, and 

 Staten Island. Throughout Long Island, the worms were dug from 

 sand flats and beaches. Sandworms were short but fat and of excel- 

 lent quality. Bloodworms were of similar quality to those now 

 obtained in Maine. Exploratory digging was soon extended as far 

 as Fairfield. Conn., and Massachusetts (Sandrof 1946). A fishery 

 that dealt mainly with sandworms was established in the area north 

 of Boston: Winthrop, Revere, Lynn, Swampscot. Marblehead. 

 Salem. Gloucester, and Newburyport by 1929 during the depres- 

 sion (Greely IT ). By 1932, some digging had occurred south of Bos- 

 ton to Chatham on the Cape (Greely footnote 17). Marine worms 

 were probably also being dug commercially in New Hampshire by 

 this time. Yet, despite the exploration for and discovery of 

 commercial marine worm populations prior to 1932, sufficient 

 quantities were still not available to supply the market. This lack of 

 availability has been attributed to: 1) an initial lack of abundance 

 and the complaints of landowners who objected to worm digging in 

 their sandy beaches (Sandrof 1946), 2) overdigging and depletion 

 of the known stocks (Schmal footnote 16; Greely footnote 17). 3) 

 increased demand for marine baitworms in the sportfish fisheries 

 (MacPhail 1954; Dow 18 ), 4) a decline due to increased pollution 

 from heated effluent discharge and toxic heavy metal pollutants 

 (Dow footnote 18), and 5) a demise in the fishery resulting from 

 higher than optimal seawater temperatures (Dow footnote 18). 

 Although some worming probably began in the Portland. Maine, 

 area in the early 1920s, the fisheries" slow initial growth in Maine 

 was partly due to a certain skepticism toward the digging of marine 

 worms (Glidden footnote 6). In 1933, an abundant supply of 

 worms was found in the area around Wiscasset (Sandrop 1946) and 

 Boothbay Harbor (Schaml footnote 16; Greely footnote 17). Most 

 of the digging in these areas was directed toward sandworms but 

 some bloodworms were also obtained. By 1937, the industry had 

 become well enough established for the Maine Legislature to insti- 

 gate "control" legislation (Glidden footnote 6). The municipalities 

 affected by this legislation were mainly located in Cumberland, 

 Sagadahoc, and Lincoln Counties (Dow 1 "). Nearly 40 laws were 

 passed between 1937 and 1955 which prohibited nonresidents from 

 digging worms within the political boundaries of numerous munici- 

 palities. All these laws were repealed in 1955 after it was estab- 

 lished that many of these exclusions were motivated by coastal 

 property owners who desired to prevent trespass rather than con- 

 serve marine worm stocks (Dow footnote 19). The fishery in 

 Maine had been extended from Cumberland. Sagadahoc, and Lin- 

 coln Counties into Hancock and Washington Counties by the early 

 1940s (Flye :o ). By 1949. bait dealer inquiries from the United 

 States had stimulated the Canadian Atlantic Biological Stations to 



l6 D. Schmal. marine worm digger. North Edgecomb. ME 04545. pers. commun. 

 Jul> 1979. 



I7 0. Greeley, marine worm dealer. Sullivan. ME 04682, pers. commun. July 

 1979. 



ls Dow, R. L. 1977. The Maine marine baitworm fishery. Dep. Mar. Resour. state- 

 ment. Augusta, 7 p. 



'"R. L. Dow, Coordinator. New England Regional Fisheries Management Coun- 

 cil. Maine Dep. Mar. Resour.. Augusta, ME 04330. pers. commun. July 1979. 



:o I. Five, marine worm dealer. Newcastle. ME 04553. pers. commun. July 1979. 



initiate a program of exploration for baitworms along the Maritime 

 coast. Stocks of sandworms were found in Charlotte County, New 

 Brunswick, and in 1950 a bait business was established there. This 

 initial endeavor was not successful due to the relatively small size 

 of the worms and the lack of a suitable packing weed (MacPhail 

 1954). The search for worms was continued in the Maritimes dur- 

 ing 1950-51 in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward 

 Island. Although some worms were found in practically all the 

 areas examined, commercial quantities of bloodworms were found 

 only in Nova Scotia in certain regions within Annapolis, Digby, 

 Yarmouth, and Shelburne Counties (Flye footnote 20; Klawe and 

 Dickie 1957: MacPhail 1954). Although the size of the worms dug 

 within these areas was smaller than their Maine counterparts, 

 excellent transportation facilities were available and by 1952, three 

 shippers were operating in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. In 

 1953, sandworms were again shipped from Charlotte County, New 

 Brunswick, but the absence of a suitable packing weed prevented 

 large scale development of the industry (MacPhail 1954). 



Maine marine worm landings recorded in U.S. Department of 

 Commerce (1946-80) in pounds and converted back into numbers, 

 as well as landed value, are presented in Table 3. 



Table 3.— The numbers and value of bloodworms and sandworms landed by 

 licensed marine worm diggers in the State of Maine between 1946 and 1980. 





Licensed marine 



Bloodworms 



Sandworms 







Value 





Value 



Year 



worm diggers 



Numbers 



(dollars) 



Numbers 



(dollars) 



1946 



— 



2.608.000 



57,125 



2.335,000 



47,188 



1947 



— 



7.200,000 



144,530 



2.046,000 



37,086 



1948 



449 



25.018,000 



305.044 



3.116.000 



57,307 



1949 



498 



17.700.000 



297.021 



1.356,000 



18,910 



1950 



389 



13.718.000 



242,081 



2,276.000 



37,158 



1951 



324 



9.511,000 



157,966 



5.868.000 



88,412 



1952 



435 



9.256.000 



178,312 



6,288,000 



91,109 



1953 



522 



11,198,000 



217,966 



9,744,000 



148,499 



1954 



625 



10.555,000 



200,518 



11,364,000 



167,196 



1955 



551 



8.921.000 



167,004 



7,176,000 



110,283 



1956 



530 



7.493.000 



150,748 



11,312,000 



177,672 



1957 



640 



10.485.000 



246,436 



1 1 .636,000 



214,344 



1958 



628 



13.604.000 



309,678 



10,764.000 



193,853 



1959 



784 



18,837,000 



371,832 



21,548,000 



334,285 



1960 



643 



24.207,000 



482,100 



24.516.000 



365,850 



1961 



729 



26,176,000 



515,979 



25.720,000 



387,066 



1962 



775 



25,674,000 



516.362 



27,108,000 



421,267 



1963 



921 



32,198.000 



696,887 



32,532,000 



506.578 



1964 



1.041 



33,390.000 



745,315 



30,894,000 



450.544 



1965 



1.015 



33.918,000 



759,582 



29,545,000 



447,341 



1966 



930 



31.511.000 



731,335 



31,848,000 



509,018 



1967 



1,025 



32.956.000 



834,826 



28,257,000 



492,384 



1968 



1.165 



36.632,000 



1.048,581 



27.833,000 



533,358 



1969 



1.168 



34.449,000 



999.787 



26,914,000 



523,836 



1970 



1.194 



37.242,000 



1,215,772 



29,877.000 



621,474 



1971 



1.396 



35,603,000 



1,381,676 



30.115,000 



674.296 



1972 



1.383 



31.013.000 



1.325,895 



27.886,000 



625,848 



1973 



1.451 



35.381.000 



1.744,832 



28,135.000 



1,060,402 



1974 



1,455 



31,377.000 



1.569.823 



32,881.000 



949,956 



1975 



1,267 



35,634,000 



1,779,266 



29,935,000 



862,854 



1976 



1.199 



23.454,000 



1,255.852 



27,915,000 



812,318 



1977 



1.197 



17.474.000 



1.313.987 



29,506.000 



1.000.432 



1978 



1.155 



16,202.000 



1.164.688 



29.937,000 



1,075,409 



1979 



1.105 



19,387.000 



1,434,258 



29,776.000 



1,109,292 



1980 



985 



20.338.000 



1,404,222 



29.002.000 



1,094.535 



WORM DIGGING 



One of the most attractive features associated with digging 

 marine worms is the low initial cost of involvement in the fishery. 



