THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 
227 
By act of 1845-46 (ch. 240) it was made unlawful for any person thereafter to tong 
oysters in the waters of Worcester County between April 13 and September 1 of 
any year, this being the first close season operative in any part of Maryland. In 1861 
(ch. 57) this local close season was changed to May 1-September 1 ; and it was fur- 
ther required that before any person should engage in tonging in the said county he 
should obtain a written permit from all the acting justices of the peace in the district 
bordering Sinepuxent Bay, said permit to expire on April 30, annually, and to limit 
the quantity of oysters to be taken by any one man to 10 bushels per week; but at the 
following session this act was repealed (L. 1861-62, ch. 48). 
As tonging was the only method of catching oysters authorized from 1820 to 
1854, the development in extent of this branch of the fishery is practically represented 
by the statistics of the early oyster industry as herein presented. 
The license system adopted in 1865 modified all tonging regulations and required, 
under a penalty of from $20 to $100, that before any person should engage in tonging 
oysters he should obtain from the clerk of the circuit court of the county of which he 
was a resident, and at a cost of $5, a license for each boat employed, the proceeds from 
the issuing of such licenses being paid into the treasury of the State. The license 
authorized the use of tongs from June 1 in any year to June 1 following and was to 
be renewed annually. It was further required that each boat licensed should be so 
numbered as to be readily identified. 
During 1865-66, the first season in which this act was operative, 1,658 boats were 
licensed, the amount of revenue derived by the State therefrom being $8,290, and the 
estimated quantity of oysters taken by these implements amounted to about 1,250,000 
bushels. 
At the next session of the general assembly (L. 1867, ch. 184) the license fee for 
tonging was reduced from $5 to $4 per boat; and in 1868 (L. 1868, ch. 406) a graded 
rate was substituted as follows: Boats measuring 20 feet or less in length, $4; from 
20 to 25 feet, $6; from 25 to 30 f et, $8; and all over 30 feet, $10 each. But in 1872 
(ch. 167) the general fee was again changed, being reduced to exactly one-half of the 
preceding rates, and the new rates remained operative until 1892. 
A report relative to the extent of the tonging industry, made in 1870 by the com- 
mander of the fishery force, shows that in the season 1868-69 the number of boats 
licensed to tong was 1,907, and the catch amounted to 1,735,370 bushels, for which 
the oystermen received $607,380; and a similar report, made by the same officer in 
1871, shows that in the season 1869-70 the number of boats was 1,647, the number of 
men operating them was 3,410, and the catch amounted to 2.043,075 bushels, valued 
at $715,076. From 1870 until 1875 this branch of the oyster industry was very pros- 
perous and good prices prevailed, the number of boats employed in 1872-73 being 
950 more than in 1869-70. But following 1875 there was a large decrease in the extent 
of the fishery, both the quantity and value of the products being reduced. In the 
meanwhile the legal seasons and the methods of fishery were further restricted, the 
following being the more important of the regulations adopted: 
In 1870 (ch. 364) it was required that no license to take oysters with tongs should 
be issued in any part of the State to any boat or vessel licensed to catch oysters with 
dredges, scrapes, or similar instruments.' Prior to this enactment a number of boats 
obtained both dredging and tonging licenses with the purpose of using the dredges 
on areas on which those implements were unauthorized, it being difficult to prove, 
