Quahogs in Eastern North America: Part II, History by Province and State

The northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, ranges along the Atlantic Coast of North America from the Canadian Maritimes to Florida, while the southern quahog, M. campechiensis, ranges mostly from Florida to southern Mexico. The northern quahog was fished by native North Americans during prehistoric periods. They used the meats as food and the shells as scrapers and as utensils. The European colonists copied the Indians treading method, and they also used short rakes for harvesting quahogs. The Indians of southern New England and Long Island, N.Y., made wampum from quahog shells, used it for ornaments and sold it to the colonists, who, in turn, traded it to other Indians for furs. During the late 1600’s, 1700’s, and 1800’s, wampum was made in small factories for eventual trading with Indians farther west for furs. The quahoging industry has provided people in many coastal communities with a means of earning a livelihood and has given consumers a tasty, wholesome food whether eaten raw, steamed, cooked in chowders, or as stuffed quahogs. More than a dozen methods and types of gear have been used in the last two centuries for harvesting quahogs. They include treading and using various types of rakes and dredges, both of which have undergone continuous improvements in design. Modern dredges are equipped with hydraulic jets and one type has an escalator to bring the quahogs continuously to the boats. In the early 1900’s, most provinces and states established regulations to conserve and maximize yields of their quahog stocks. They include a minimum size, now almost universally a 38-mm shell width, and can include gear limitations and daily quotas. The United States produces far more quahogs than either Canada or Mexico. The leading producer in Canada is Prince Edward Island. In the United States, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island lead in quahog production in the north, while Virginia and North Carolina lead in the south. Connecticut and Florida were large producers in the 1990’s. The State of Tabasco leads in Mexican production. In the northeastern United States, the bays with large openings, and thus large exchanges of bay waters with ocean waters, have much larger stocks of quahogs and fisheries than bays with small openings and water exchanges. Quahog stocks in certified beds have been enhanced by transplanting stocks to them from stocks in uncertified waters and by planting seed grown in hatcheries, which grew in number from Massachusetts to Florida in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Quahogs in Eastern North America: Part I, Biology, Ecology, and Historical Uses

The northern quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, ranges along the Atlantic Coast of North America from the Canadian Maritimes to Florida, while the southern quahog, M. campechiensis, ranges mostly from Florida to southern Mexico. The northern quahog was fished by native North Americans during prehistoric periods. They used the meats as food and the shells as scrapers and as utensils. The European colonists copied the Indians treading method, and they also used short rakes for harvesting quahogs. The Indians of southern New England made wampum from quahog shells, used it for ornaments and sold it to the colonists, who, in turn, traded it to other Indians for furs. During the late 1600’s, 1700’s, and 1800’s, wampum was made in small factories for eventual trading with Indians farther west for furs. The quahoging industry has provided people in many coastal communities with a means of earning a livelihood and has provided consumers with a tasty, wholesome food whether eaten raw, steamed, cooked in chowders, or as stuffed quahogs. More than a dozen methods and types of gear have been used in the last two centuries for harvesting quahogs. They include treading and using various types of rakes and dredges, both of which have undergone continuous improvements in design. Modern dredges are equipped with hydraulic jets and one type has an escalator to bring the quahogs continuously to the boats. In the early 1900’s, most provinces and states established regulations to conserve and maximize yields of their quahog stocks. They include a minimum size, now almost universally a 38-mm shell width, and can include gear limitations and daily quotas. The United States produces far more quahogs than either Canada or Mexico. The leading producer in Canada is Prince Edward Island. In the United States, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island lead in quahog production in the north, while Virginia and North Carolina lead in the south. Connecticut and Florida were large producers in the 1990’s. The State of Campeche leads in Mexican production. In the northeastern United States, the bays with large openings, and thus large exchanges of bay waters with ocean waters, have much larger stocks of quahogs and fisheries than bays with small openings and water exchanges. Quahog stocks in certifi ed beds have been enhanced by transplanting stocks to them from stocks in uncertified waters and by planting seed grown in hatcheries, which grew in number from Massachusetts to Florida in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Asserting rights, defining responsibilities: perspectives from small-scale fishing communities on coastal and fisheries management in the Philippines

In preparation for the Workshop and Symposium on “Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Asia”, held in Siem Reap Cambodia, from 3 to 8 May 2007, case studies were undertaken in six countries in Asia—Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Among other things, the studies aimed to document and explore the understanding that fishing communities have about their rights to fisheries and coastal resources, as well as the obligations and responsibilities associated with these rights, and to document and discuss their initiatives to assert these rights and fulfill their responsibilities. The studies formed the basis for discussions at the Workshop and Symposium. This case study from the Philippines will be found useful by NGOs, regional and national organizations of artisanal fishworkers, and anyone interested in fisheries and fishing communities in the Philippines.

A note on freshwater research in China, with some observations on the algae from Doupe Pool, Guizhou Province

This article provides insights into a particular aspect of freshwater research in China and its wider implications for western researchers. The senior author has collaborated with Professor Zhang Zhaohui from Guizhou Normal University to investigate the travertines of China. Travertines are freshwater carbonate deposits accumulating in hard-water springs and rivers. In some areas they develop rapidly, forming picturesque ascades and magnificent travertine-dammed lakes. Some of China's most famous tourist sites are the result of travertine formation. The travertine-depositing environment is a unique fast-flowing ecosystem inhabited by specialist plants and animals. The authors examine the freshwater algae of the Doupe Pool travertine situated on the Beishuihei River in Guizhou Province and compare their distribution on travertines elsewhere in the world.

Survival and Growth of American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) hatchlings after artificial incubation and repatriation

Hatchling American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) produced from artificially incubated wild eggs were returned to their natal areas (repatriated). We compared artificially incubated and repatriated hatchlings released within and outside the maternal alligator’s home range with naturally incubated hatchlings captured and released within the maternal alligator’s home range on Lake Apopka, Lake Griffin, and Orange Lake in Florida. We used probability of recapture and total length at approximately nine months after hatching as indices of survival and growth rates. Artificially incubated hatchlings released outside of the maternal alligator’s home range had lower recapture probabilities than either naturally incubated hatchlings or artificially incubated hatchlings released near the original nest site. Recapture probabilities of other treatments did not differ significantly. Artificially incubated hatchlings were approximately 6% shorter than naturally incubated hatchlings at approximately nine months after hatching. We concluded that repatriation of hatchlings probably would not have long-term effects on populations because of the resiliency of alligator populations to alterations of early age-class survival and growth rates of the magnitude that we observed. Repatriation of hatchlings may be an economical alternative to repatriation of older juveniles for population restoration. However, the location of release may affect subsequent survival and growth.

An assessment of discard mortality for two Alaskan crab species, Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi) and snow crab (C. opilio), based on reflex impairment

Delayed mortality associated with discarded crabs and fishes has ordinarily been observed through tag and recovery studies or during prolonged holding in deck tanks, and there is need for a more efficient assessment method. Chionoecetes bairdi (Tanner crab) and C. opilio (snow crab) collected with bottom trawls in Bering Sea waters off Alaska were evaluated for reflexes and injuries and held onboard to track mortality. Presence or absence of six reflex actions was determined and combined to calculate a reflex impairment index for each species. Logistic regression revealed that reflex impairment provided an excellent predictor of delayed mortality in C. opilio (91% correct predictions). For C. bairdi, reflex impairment, along with injury score, resulted in 82.7% correct predictions of mortality, and reflex impairment alone resulted in 79.5% correct predictions. The relationships between reflex impairment score and mortality were independent of crab gender, size, and shell condition, and predicted mortality in crabs with no obvious external damage. These relationships provide substantial improvement over earlier predictors of mortality and will help to increase the scope and replication of fishing and handling experiments. The general approach of using reflex actions to predict mortality should be equally valuable for a wide range of crustacean species.

Quantification and reduction of unobserved mortality rates for snow, southern Tanner, and red king crabs (Chionoecetes opilio, C. bairdi, and Paralithodes camtschaticus) after encounters with trawls on the seafloor

Unobserved mortalities of nontarget species are among the most troubling and difficult issues associated with fishing, especially when those species are targeted by other fisheries. Of such concern are mortalities of crab species of the Bering Sea, which are exposed to bottom trawling from groundfish fisheries. Uncertainty in the management of these fisheries has been exacerbated by unknown mortality rates for crabs struck by trawls. In this study, the mortality rates for 3 species of commercially important crabs—red king crab, (Paralithodes camtschaticus), snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and southern Tanner crab (C. bairdi)—that encounter different components of bottom trawls were estimated through capture of crabs behind the bottom trawl and by evaluation of immediate and delayed mortalities. We used a reflex action mortality predictor to predict delayed mortalities. Estimated mortality rates varied by species and by the part of the trawl gear encountered. Red king crab were more vulnerable than snow or southern Tanner crabs. Crabs were more likely to die after encountering the footrope than the sweeps of the trawl, and higher death rates were noted for the side sections of the footrope than for the center footrope section. Mortality rates were ≤16%, except for red king crab that passed under the trawl wings (32%). Herding devices (sweeps) can expand greatly the area of seafloor from which flatfishes are captured, and they subject crabs in that additional area to lower (4–9%) mortality rates. Raising sweep cables off of the seafloor reduced red king crab mortality rates from 10% to 4%.

Eyes on their fingertips: some aspects of the arts, science, technology and culture of the fisherfolk of Trivandrum, India

Eyes on Their Finger Tips deals with the traditional marine wisdom of a set of people and the rarest of rare experiences they have had at sea. Through these numerous chapters he takes us into the seas of the fishers. It is a voyage which we cannot make in reality. But through the heroic deeds of his father, the riddles of oldman Sebesti, the shark story of brother Kamalappan, and the rituals of his mother, we get a fascinating peep into the wisdom of the watery world of the small-scale fishers of Trivandrum, Kerala, India.