264 



Carpenter, Horace F. 1889. 



The shell-bearing mollusca of Rhode Island. Nautilus 3: 69-71. 



In the synonymy of Astarte oastanea Say appear the names Venus oastanea Say 

 and V. sulcata Mont., Maton and Rackett . This paper by Carpenter is very 

 confusing, because it appeared in bits and pieces in many issues of Nautilus. 

 This is the only reference to Venus or Meroenaria found in two attempts 

 through interlibrary loan. Obviously much more material exists. Search 

 terminated. - J.L.M. 



265 



Carpenter, Horace F. 19 01. 



The shell-bearing mollusca of Rhode Island. Nautilus 15(8): 92-96. 



It is noted that the earlier portion of the paper appeared in vols. Ill and 

 IV of Nautilus. This section contains the genera Yoldia, Area, Mytilus, 

 and Modiolus. See note under Carpenter (1889) . - J.L.M. 



266 



Carpenter, J. S. 1967. 



History of scallop and clam explorations in the Gulf of Mexico. Coram. Fish. 

 Rev. 29(1): 47-53. 



What is probably the largest bed of Meroenaria eampechiensis off the U.S. 

 coast extends from the Ten Thousand Islands area to St. Petersburg, off the 

 west coast of Florida. This area of about 200 mi 2 now produces clams. The 

 shoreline slopes very gradually and water depth is less than 12 ft in many 

 places 4 to 5 mi offshore. The commercial fishery began in the late 1880s. 

 From 1889 to 1915 boats from Key West made occasional trips to the Thousand 

 Islands area. Landings in Key West varied from 10,000 to 25,000 clams a 

 year. From 1913 to 1947 clams were taken in the Ten Thousand Islands area 

 with a conveyor-belt dredge. Clams were shucked and used for canned chowder, 

 minced clams, and clam juice. Operations stopped in 1947 because clams were 

 scarce. Clams also have been found from Charlotte Harbor to lower Tampa Bay 

 and Clearwater, but most beds are small. Small fisheries operated in some of 

 these areas for a while. Commercial harvesting off Florida through 1960 fell 

 to less than 20,000 lbs annually. After a temporary upsurge in the early 

 1960s catches fell off again. BCF clam explorations used modified "Fall 

 River" dredges. Of 221 stations fished with clam gear, hard clams were found 

 at 110 between St. Petersburg (about 28° N Lat) and Cape Romano (about 26° N ) 

 Best catches were made in 3 to 4 fath in the Pas-a-Grille and Venice areas in 

 summers 1957 and 1958. In July 1958 hard clams were caught in 47 scallop- 

 dredge drags between Cape Romano and Anclote Keys. The beds were still 

 extensive and clams were about an inch larger than in 1957. Clam beds were 

 located in the San Carlos and Cape Romano areas, but they were not extensive 

 and catches were small. In December 1962 clam populations had decreased in 

 all 4 areas. BCF vessels have found commercial concentrations of clams only 

 in Florida waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It has been reported that small 

 hard clam populations also exist off Mississippi and Louisiana. Exploratory 

 fishing has found clams in only 2 drags off Galveston, Tex., 1 off Chandeleur 

 Island, La., and a small bed in shoal water inside Horn Island, Miss. It was 

 concluded that the future of the clam industry in the Gulf of Mexico is 

 promising. - J.L.M. 



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