328 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
1889-’90 it extended from December 1 to March 20. A small amount of fishing is also 
done in the fall. 
The season at Castine and Cape Rosier usually begins November 1 and termi- 
nates April 1. The winter of 1888-89 was an open one and therefore unfavorable to 
the business. 
In the Sheepscot Eiver the scallops are taken only during the winter months. 
12.— RESULTS OF THE FISHERY IN 1887, 1888, AND 1889. 
The aggregate output of the fishery in 1887, 1888, and 1889, respectively, was 
35,204 bushels, 29,578 bushels, and 45,368 bushels. The equivalent numbers of gallons 
were 23,277 in 1887, 19,028 in 1888, and 29,851 in 1889. The total value of the prod- 
ucts as sold by the fishermen was $13,994 in 1887, $11,278 in 1888, and $18,647 in 
1889. The output of the different localities is shown in detail in the accompanying 
tables. 
In the first year the localities yielding the largest quantities were, in their order, 
Castine, Sheepscot River, Tremout, Little Deer Isle, Cape Rosier, and Mount Desert. 
In 1888 and 1889 the order varied somewhat. The Sheepscot River is to be credited 
with the largest catch, followed by Little Deer Isle, Castine, Cape Rosier, Tremont, 
Mount Desert, and Sedgwick. 
The average stock per man in 1889 was only $95 and is always necessarily low, 
owing to the large number of persons who engage in the fishery only irregularly, and 
also to the short time during which the fishery is prosecuted in most localities. It 
should also be borne in mind that few, if any, men depend exclusively on scalloping 
for a livelihood. The following table shows the fiuctuatious in the average stock per 
man in the different localities during the past 3 years : 
Table showing the average stock of persons engaged in the scallop fishery. 
Locality. 
1887. 
1888. 
1889. 
$150 
92 
$125 
63 
$100 
64 
65 
51 
139 
33 
50 
54 
44 
106 
125 
118 
119 
71 
60 
74 
85 
64 
95 
Men who may be said to have made a business of scalloping during the continu- 
ance of the season stocked quite as much as usually results from other fisheries for the 
same length of time. For instance, at least fifteen men in Castine and Cape Rosier 
annually take scallops to the value of $200 each, although the average stock of the 
fishermen of those places is only about half that sum. 
13.— SUGGESTIONS FOR THE POSSIBLE ADVANCEMENT OF THE FISHERY. 
The probability of making large fares, were it possible to operate to advantage on 
the deeper beds, suggests the need of a more improved form of dredge. With the 
present dredge it is not easy to take scallops at a greater depth than 30 fathoms. 
Probably the most extensive beds lie beyond that depth and have never been disturbed 
