GIANT SCALLOP FISHERY OF MAINE. 
329 
by man. There seems to be no doubt that a rich harvest awaits the man who first 
uses a form of apparatus that cau be operated iu almost any reasonable depth of 
water, say 100 fathoms. 
In the oyster fisheries of the Chesapeake the need of such an apparatus has long 
been felt to compensate for the depletion of the inshore beds by making available new 
and productive grounds that can not be reached by the ordinary forms of apparatus. 
Through the ingenuity of Mr. Charles L. Marsh, of Solomon’s Island, Maryland, a 
simple device has been patented which makes it possible to take oysters in any depth 
of water. The apparatus is essentially similar to the ordinary tongs so commonly 
used, but is devoid of handles. The latter made it iinimssible to take oysters in a 
greater depth than 30 or 35 feet, and even with that depth the work is not devoid of 
much fatigue and unsatisfactory results. That a similar form of tongs, made on the 
same principle, can be advantageously employed in deep water in the scallop fishery 
there can be no doubt. Its advantage over the common dredge is as great as its 
superiority over the ordinary oyster tongs. Requiring the services of but one person, it 
can be operated from the side of a vessel by each member of the crew, and it can also 
be employed in small open boats carrying one or two men. The disadvantage of hav- 
ing to row and sail back and forth over the grounds is done away with ; it is iiossible 
to locate the bed before unlocking the tongs, thus making sure of the catch; and 
although more costly it is more economical in the end, because requiring the services 
of fewer men and insuring greater results in a given time. 
The experience of the U. S. Fish Commission has demonstrated that the beam- 
trawl is the most effective apparatus for the capture of scallops. By means of it 
many bushels have been brought up at a single haul off the Massachusetts coast. 
It seems proper, therefore, to speak of it iu this connection as a possible substitute 
for the smaller dredge on many portions of the coast of Maine. 
In using the beam-trawl it would be necessary to work on smooth bottom, since 
rough, stony ground would tear the net. Fortunately the deep-water beds are believed 
to be generally on bottom that is suitable for operating the beam-trawl ; at least many 
such areas have been found in the explorations of the Fish Commission. 
The beam-trawl is somewhat more expensive than the dredge, but its eifective- 
ness is believed to be vastly greater. Besides, a small trawl, with a 12 to 15 foot 
beam, can be operated with the same number of men that is needed for towing a 
dredge. A large sailboat could tow the trawl and, with the assistance of some sort 
of mechanical device to raise it (like a capstan, or the winch that is used by the drift- 
net fishermen of Great Britain), it could be easily managed by two men. 
Small steam vessels or launches could i)robably be successfully employed in this 
fishery if the demand for scallops reaches proportions that call for the employment 
of additional capital and a material increase in the output. Their use would do much 
to economize time and to increase the catch while, of course, steam could be utilized 
to hoist the trawl. 
For information concerning the beam-trawl, its manipulation, etc., the reader is 
referred to the exhaustive paper on the subject by Oapt. J. W. Collins.* 
’The beain-trawi fishery of Great Britain, with notes on beam-trawling in other countries, etc. Bul- 
letin U. S. Fish Commission, Vol. vii, 1887. 
