The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-02-28
SCALLOP FISHING.
A ToothsOme Shellfish that Some People |
Prefer to Oysters.

Prefer to Oysters.
When summer joys have departed,
the city folks have returned to their
homes, and the villages along the Buz-
yards Bay shore have lapsed into their
usual state of quietl,de, the fishermen
begin what they call the ''scallop sea-
SON" The scallop season bias hereto
fore begun on the first day of October,
but owing to an agreement between
the fishermen who follow the occupa
ton, the season this year did not open
until November /, and it is more than
likely that this precedent will be fol-
lowed in the future. beginning No
vember l, the season of dredging con-
tinues until April l. The reporter had
the fortune to find at work opening
special order of one quart of scallops
A. j. Hathaway, the oldest fisherman
actively engaged in the business in
Buzzard's Bay
I've been a fisherman all the days
of my life and that is nearly fifty
years, he said, but | amt been in the
scallop business only bout twenty
years, Before that time scallops were
not caught for the market in these
waters, although they were very
plentiful, so much so that person
could go down on the neck here at low
tide and get wagon load of them at
any time. It's during the last twenty
years that scallop fishing has grown to
be so profitable, until to-day it is a bet
ter money-making business, while it
lasts, than the oyster business.
THE scallops that you see in the
markets in New York and Boston are
not like the scallops you see me open
ing now. They are all soaked before
we send them to market. You see, by
soaking twenty-four gallons of scallops
we can measure out about thirty-two
gallons when we get ready to ship
them. They increase in quantity, but
in flavor it's another thing. This is
where we put our own eyes out. If we
did not soak them the demand would
increase, for just as quick as people be-
gan to eat scallops that were not
soaked they would find them so sweet
twice as many as they do now. In
their natural state, as they come out of
the shell, they far surpass the oyster in
deliciousness.
"In Boston and New York the mar
ketmen all know that we soak them,
and they tell US if we did not put them
through this process we would get bet
ter prices; but it is no use for few to
stand out, and so they are likely to
continue to soak every scallop that
goes into the market this season at
least. Scallops when soaked swell,
but as soon as they are cooked they de-
crease, so that they are but one-quarter
size when ready to be served: if they
were not soaked they would be large,
juicy and tender,
The scallop is short-lived fish,
living only about two years in its nat
ural element and only two days when
taken away from it. They are very
plentiful now, but not so much so as
when l was boy. The scallop market
is very unsteady at nearly all times
during the season. The prices go down
easily enough, but it is hard work to
push them up. The prices we receive
for our fish vary from twenty-five cents
per gallon to two dollars. To-day
got returns for one dollar and twenty
cents per gallon, which is a fair price
for this time of the year.
"We do all our dredging on this side
of the bay from yachts. A dredge holds
about one bushel. They are made of
iron, with a bag-like attachment of
netting. The dredge is drawn over the
bottom of the fishing grounds until it
is filled, when it is taken aboard the
boat and the contents dumped on what
we call a culling board. The scallops
are then separated from the refuse,
which is thrown overheard. Some of
the yachts put out seven dredges, and
few boats carry as high as ten. Two
men are required in a boat, and good
days catch is about thirty bushels;
from thirty bushels in the shell about
ninety quarts can be obtained. '-Bos-
ton Globe.