Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-04-23
NO PROFITS IN
DREDGING NOW.
Oyster Boats Being Abandoned
And Many Are Already Up
For Sale.
DREDGERS SEEK JOBS.
High Cost Of Labor And Main
tainance Knocking Out Once
Big Industry Of The
chesapeake.
chesapeake.


Conservation Commissioner Killian
Will today begin a voyage down the
| Chesapeake Bay and into it's tributar-
les TO arrange for the planting of oys-
ters, under the state plan. This plan
was successfully worked out on the
bottoms of Dare's Wharf. Calvert
county
Mr. Killian and other members of
the commission hope for good results
from the planting, because o. an
favorable conditions Of the last year,
which have deprived oystermen, and
especially the dredgers, OF profit.
even of living. These conditions
were the severe weather and the
high price of labor and of living eX-
penses. Because of losses many
.dredgers have offered their boats
for sale and have found employment
in the sbipyards and elsewhere They
declare that their oyster dredging
days are over.
According To reports the young
oysters in the upper Chesapeake Bay
have died. either smothered by the
mud from the Susquehanna River,
crushed by the ice, or victim of some
malady. In the tributaries, however,
young oysters are reported TO be
plentiful In it's review of the oys-
ter season just closed the Conserva-
ton Commission says:
The oyster season just closing is
in many respects the most unusual
in the recollection of the present gem
Grafton. 1t might be said to have
been but half a season, inasmuch as
the interruption by the freeze begin
ming with the 2Sth of December stop
ped almost completely for nearly two
months all operations the month of
December itself having been much in
terrupted by unfavorable weather.
AS a consequence. the industry be-
came badly disorganized, many of the
oystermen Tesorting to other employ
ment when it was apparent that a
long interruption was about TO oc-
cur. AS a further consequence of the
severe weather. the transportation
facilities. already badly disorganized
by the movement of war materials,
were still further handicapped, so
that shipments of oysters were delay
ed TO such an extent as TO n3aterially
influence the inland trade to discon-
tinue the handling of raw stock.
Therefore, when the weather opened
up and the ice disappeared and oys-
tering could again be resumed, about
the latter part of February or the first
of March, there was very little de-
mand for raw stock. and the shortage
of labor in the canning houses also
seriously interfered with the demand
for steamed oysters. AS a conse-
quence, the production in the Chesa-
peake Bay and its tribut2Sies for the
season of 1917-1S was about $500, 900
bushels
Higher cost to the boatman for all
his supplies and outfit, as well as for
wages on the dredge and scrape
boats, compelled a higher selling
price per bushel for the oysters than
had been experienced in a number of
years. The season on the whole may
be described as being both a good one
one and bad one-a good one so far
as the returns for the actual work.
ing period was concerned. since the
selling price compensated the catcher
for the production he enjoyed, but
bad one from the standpoint OF the
long weather interruption, which
tended TO make the season unproft-
able to all interested in the industry.
There are, however, evidences of
large set of oysters which made it's
appearance during the latter part Of
the season. and gives promise of
good supply for the catcher in the
opening of the next season.