IMEP 146 Part # 2 - Bay Scallops Are Actually Shore Scallops

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IMEP #146 Part 2: Bay Scallops Are Actually Shore Scallops

The Bay Scallop Small Boat Fisheries
"Understanding Science Through History"
Bay Scallop Populations Surge Following Cold and Strong Storms
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This is a delayed report – February, 2020 revised to August, 2023
Tim Visel retired from The Sound School June 30, 2022
This is Part 2 of a two-part series, readers should review Part 1 if possible


Introduction – Bay Scallop Small Boat Fisheries


One of the advantages of near shore fisheries is that they happened in shallow water.  This gave inshore fishers an edge as they could sample and observe these habitats directly.  Day after day, season after season, year upon year, these cove and bay fisheries added to our habitat knowledge.  Events were often markers for habitat change – cold, storm-filled winters followed by a series of "warm" winters with few storms.  This aspect of habitat clocks or period of time was introduced to me by John C. Hammond, a retired oyster culturist, who farmed oysters in the Oyster Pond River in Chatham, Massachusetts.  He discussed with me the history of Chatham, Massachusetts, which once was the leader in soft-shell clams in the 1900's, only to be a large bay scallop producer in the 1950's.  Of special significance was aquaculture as habitat notations were similar to a farm field except this field was under water.  Mr. Hammond's shellfish business started in 1938, just in time for the 1938 Hurricane – he used to joke.  As he gained a grant (a private oyster lease), his observations were largely from tonging on and poling along the grant for decades.  Because of his work on his shallow water grant, he was able to note changes over a long period of time, more than one field visit, a summer study or even a period of years.  His viewpoint was measured in decades.


This is the long-term view that I mention in so many of my habitat history reports.  Mr. Hammond had studied the habitat because he depended upon that habitat for a living and changes could and often did have an immediate impact.  He had watched as oyster recruitment "failed" in the colder 1950's and 1960's while bay scallop crops increased.  He also monitored the impacts of storms on the Monomoy barrier beach and the concept of new sand washed by waves and currents.  The terms polar vortex and NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation), so often in the news today, were first introduced to me more than four decades ago by Mr. Hammond.

It is the small boat fishers and those that shellfished in shallow waters who kept notes and detailed observations of the bottom, itself.  The historical nature of the early importance of shellfish resources (and, at times, herring runs) to European settlers often meant local control by town committees or boards, which set seasons or enacted catch (bag) limits.  A strong sense of public meetings and local jurisdiction meant that the public (fishers) had a chance to comment or present, or in Mr. Hammond's experiences, write letters.  As shellfish and finfish industry declined and the numbers of small boat fishers lessened, so did the information they once reported (See Appendix #3: John Hammond Letters).
Bacterial closures from criteria set in 1925 closed shallow water clam and oyster fisheries.  Bay scallops grew in importance as only the meat (eye) of the scallop is consumed.  In many towns, by the 2,000's, only the bay scallop fisheries still continued the small boat dredge fisheries of the last century.
These fisheries were generally northern areas or had good tidal exchanges that kept waters cooler with sufficient oxygen on hot summer days.  Although many records mention seed scallops freezing in cold waves, few observations point to enormous amounts of seed in shallow waters in heat waves.  Here, waters quickly warmed, reducing oxygen and opening the door to the bacterial use of sulfate – releasing sulfide that is extremely toxic to the bay scallop.  It is during prolonged heat or heat waves that massive kills of bay scallops happen.  An examination of the reports of Rhode Island Commissioners of Shellfisheries (1900) devotes twenty pages to the growing oyster industry but just three sentences to the scallop.  Page 8 has this segment - "We are unable to give a very favorable account of the catch of scallops during the past year.  The Scallop law should be revised and more certain, and at the same time, more stringent in some respects."
As what past management practices consisted of were mostly regulations and little mention of climate.  This report followed just two years after the 1898 lobster dieoff – a period known for "great heat waves."  Mr. Hammond was born August 22, 1900, midway into the four-decade period 1880-1920, which he later urged me to study.  He was nineteen years of age as the Spanish flu ravaged New England.
Dr. Louis M. Allyn, Health Officer for the Town of Groton for the year ending August 31, 1919 – pg. 58 contains the following segment "Report of The Health Officer:"

"And an epidemic of influenza, which was particularly severe.  There were 433 cases reported, not including the Borough and there were 51 deaths from influenza, and pneumonia from September 1st to December 28th in the whole town.  Statistics show that the epidemic was less severe in those towns or cities in which the schools and churches were kept open."

Signed: Dr. Louis M. Allyn, Health Officer"

Of course, we know this epidemic as the 1918 Great influenza epidemic or the Spanish flu.  Many feel that the flu originated in Europe and near the end of World War I, not necessarily in Spain, but infected millions in four waves.  This was a time of very high summer temperatures.

For inshore fisheries, this period brought huge change for small boat fisheries, the implications of the 1898 lobster dieoff were still unknown, although the Portland gale cultivated vast stretches of water off Nantucket that a decade later would support a huge quahog fishery.  In 1903 and 1904, sets of soft-shell clams in Rhode Island would break records.  For bay scallops, these were marked by poor seasons.  By the teens, Rhode Island stopped even mentioning them in its fishery records.

For the oysters, these very hot temperatures favored recruitment along with warm, southwest winds.  Areas that were winter killed now supported oyster bars in shallow waters.  Soft shells thrived in shallows and the Black Hall River in Old Lyme had a soft-shell clam fishery until 1938.

With the return of colder temperatures and more storms, oyster and soft-shell clam populations declined, only to see bay scallops and the hard shell clam quahog increase.  This reversal in species is noted by William A. Niering in a June 1978 Connecticut Arboretum Bulletin #23: The Plants and Animals of the Estuary, pg. 32 has this comment:

"Old time fishermen say that when the clam population is large, the scallop population is small, and vice versa."   
This climate transition is linked to a colder and storm-filled period, 1922 to 1972.  This signals the return of the bay scallop as temperature cooled and the number of hurricanes and "northeasters" increased.  Areas, such as Narragansett Bay in the 1870's, now had scallops once again.  By the late 1920's, scallop catches were again significant but mentions the freezing of seed scallops driven into shallow waters by strong storms.  The Rhode Island Annual Report of the 

Commissioners of Shellfisheries for the year ending November 30, 1928 (printed January Session 1929) on pg. 6 contains this section:

Scallops –
"The returns on scallops were not quite as large as on proceeding years, the reason being that this species of shellfish are more liable to be moved about by heavy storms, winds and tides, than other bivalves, and in the fall and winter seasons, a large number are washed ashore, or destroyed by freezing."  

The Cape and Islands report much the same pattern, bitter cold and storms leading to massive bay scallop seed losses in the winter.  In winters that had storms but not bitter cold, scallops would live in areas too shallow for hand dredges.  Clyde Mackenzie Jr. in his write up of shellfish on Martha's Vineyard (The Dukes County Intelligencer, August 1992) which notes a change in fishing gear just after the cold winter(s) of the 1922-1924.

In the mid-1920's, Sam Norton of Edgertown famed skipper of the Manxman, the largest yawl in the world at the time, introduced the glass bottomed viewing box to the island for scalloping.  On a trip to Florida, he had seen fishermen drifting over a shallow bay to gather sponges using similar boxes.  It allows a person looking through it to see the bottom clearly ... From three to ten feet deep."   

Mackenzie continues to describe a pole net in which scallops were spotted and dip nettled one by one as boats drifted over flats.  What is important to consider is cold water is usually clear water – cold suppresses the growth of plankton which results in clear water.  I call this the farm pond example – in February a farm pond can be clear but the same pond usually near a barn is green or brown in August and sometimes visibility is only a few inches if that.

Movement of seed scallops to prevent winter mortality is mentioned many times in the New England fishery literature – with the use of hand dredges, scoop nets or even hand picking.  After Hurricane Lee on Sept 2023 The Inquirer and Mirror Kaie Quigley reports that 40 volunteers and boats helped returned millions of scallop seed stranded by Hurricane Lee back into Nantucket Harbor.

Conflicts between commercial harvests and a low cost/easier entry public fishery caused the Niantic River fishery to become just spotters.  This eliminated the use of dredges in deeper areas, also a deep water pole rake called push-pull as well.  When this happened a large percentage of the crop went unharvested.  (And needlessly wasted as the two year life span dictates – my view T. Visel).  Nelson Marshall notes in his 1960 report titled "Studies of The Niantic River Connecticut With Special Reference to The Bay Scallop."  That scallops have been found at depths of 60 feet (page 100) and that most hand dredging occurs in areas to deep for "dip netting or "spotting."  On page 94 is found this segment:

"Scallops are abundant elsewhere in the estuary and do well in the deeper water though restrictions against the towing of gear have made it difficult to fish much beyond the shallows."

The Niantic River fishery utilized long pole nets (push-pull) that were termed dip nets.  These were pulled along the bottom and as such disturbed it, thus freeing up silt on the bottom and whatever clear water was present now turned to a black or grey stain and greatly reduced spotting visibility.  According to some retired scallopers, the restrictions on gear resulted in a competition to get the early clear water.

I have experienced that myself, dip netting with Robert Porter in 1986.  So many spotters were on the river even these much smaller nets disturbed fine grain rock flour and organics (mostly leaves) that we would need to move to find clear water.  It became an effort to be first on the water in early mornings when the nighttime had allowed waters to clear by settlement.  Thus, restrictions were based on catch and the ability to use less disturbing capture methods.  When deeper gear was restricted it also cut back on catch and observations of the channel areas that often held deeper thick beds of scallops.  A further complication was that of determining the seasons.  The regulations set in a cold climate period do not hold up with warming water.  In the middle 2015's, 2017, 2018 scallops arrived late to the Niantic River.  It was the usual practice to survey areas in September for a later fall opening.  These surveys were established in the 1950's when colder sea water prevailed (a negative NAO phase).  A delayed fall season allowed bay scallops to grow in weight (the size of the meats or eyes and a November season made sense from a pound/yield basis).  However, the calendar we use does not necessarily match that of natures.  Because nearly all of the season is dependent upon storms to move seed and at times adults into shallow waters a very warm summer into fall would miss the sudden appearance of scallops following a strong fall or winter storm.  

The recent years bay scallops appeared beyond the normal "time" and the bay scallop season did not open in the late fall.  A late 2016 January snow storm did move substantial numbers of adults into Niantic River and stayed there until late April until they perished.  No catches were allowed because the season was officially closed in October.  Surveys at a local State of Connecticut boat ramp parking lot showed many adult scallops being dropped in the parking lot and consumed by seagulls in the month of February (Tim Visel – personal observations).

A large bed of scallops was observed (See IMEP #60: Niantic Connecticut Bay Scallop Fishery, posted February 7, 2017, The Blue Crab ForumTM, Fishing, Eeling and Oystering thread) from other fishers east of the Niantic River.  One of the problems of outlawing hand dredges is that it eliminated much if not all deep water survey knowledge – we have lost the small boat fishery that would look, find and monitor adult bay scallop populations.  We do not have that information because the legal hand hauled scallop fishery was ended in the Niantic region.  Bay scallops do not follow our calendar nor do they live in the same place every year.  One area or region could be good while others very poor.  This aspect has plagued fishery managers for over a century and is compounded by cold and energy habitat conditions.    

Observations of bay scallops in 20 feet of water south of Mason's Island (all adults) were told to me and that they survived until the first week of May.  After Hurricane Sandy movement of scallop seed wrack was observed in some Rhode Island Salt Ponds and the possibility of small scallops being driven east to the shores of eastern Connecticut.  This fits the habitat clock theory that John Hammond had developed, although rules and regulations were established that did govern mother nature, some areas held scallops – while others did not (See Appendix #3: John Hammond Letter of November 26, 1982).

Temperature storm levels of one time do not fit others.  After 1972, our waters started to warm.  Some falls, the Niantic River temperatures were too warm to support bay scallops even reaching 80oF (Dominion Labs report 2002, Millstone Environmental Laboratory).  Sulfide is lethal to bay scallops with the slightest amounts of sulfide (the smells of rotten eggs).  A climate shift made it possible that instead of October surveys for bay scallops they should be done in December or perhaps as in 2016, even January.  A warm summer could kill any seed with sulfide being purged from composting organics.

We have other climate indicators and that is the abundance of "Nubs" an early spring (warm water) set that with proper forage conditions a one year old seed reaches adult shell size in one year.  One of the harvest regulations is that adults must show a raised growth line showing that it has spawned – at least once and therefore can be harvested.  Some "Nubs" were the size if not larger than two year adults and complicated harvest regulations and at times became very controversial.  That is not an isolated incident with growth as Belding reports the same conditions in 1910 during Mr. Hammond's Great Heat 1880-1920.  On page 97 of Nelson Marshall's report is found this segment for The Bay Scallop of the Niantic River, Connecticut With Special Reference to The Bay Scallop Aequipecten irradians, 1960).

"During 1954 and 1955 a total of 4,143 specimens were examined from the Niantic River.  Only nine of these showed two growth rings.  Though it was reported by fishermen from Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts, that third year scallops were abundant in catches there during the 1954-55 season a sample obtained had less than 4% with two growth rings."

This indicator is, perhaps, for extreme cold (a human definition) the presence of two growth rings.  This question has plagued those studying the bay scallop for over a century.  Why do bay scallops after spawning continue to grain weight and grow only to perish just before a second spawning event?  I believe that in our climate periods that we record even with bitter cold and high catches it's still not cold enough (and why perhaps as waters warm the Cape and Island bay scallop fisheries hold out the longest – areas that have more energy and colder waters) except in some areas and live to the second spawning – and have very large shells and two raised growth rings.

I was provided shell samples decades ago (Niantic River) with two distinct growth rings – it seems contrary to our thinking but perhaps winter were too short to make it fully to a second spawning although it seems plausible to believe that some do.  It would certainly help to assume that the genetic clock matches the habitat clock only in the coldest of times and most often they do not match exactly.  We have the example of the arctic moth Gynaephora groenlandica.  With arctic summers too short, it lives seven years before it pupates into an adult moth.

The difference in genetics and habitat types or clocks can be seen in the blue crab.  With most reports concluding that active feeding stops at 47oF (8.3oC) that the length of our winters here govern survival with dormancy periods of about 150 days or Dec 1st to May 1st of stored food.  Now back that to Nov 1st (a very cold October) and June 1st (a very cold spring) that is about 60 days beyond stored food capacity and our crabs here are "winter killed" or they starve to death.  I have seen this in the Oyster River in Old Saybrook as the ice cleared, dozens of dead blue crabs were observed surrounded by white bacteria growths.

This is also apparent with a much shorter winter as those after 1998 when the blue crab surged north into Buzzards Bay.  Some winters were so mild that gardeners were tending root crops in late December, some years flowers were blooming the first week of January along the shore of Long Island Sound.  (Rose bushes bloomed at The Sound School 2008 to 2010).

Bay scallops also have the ability to catch up growth partially offsetting habitat change.  In 1984, Dr. Lance Stewart and Dr. Peter Auster authored a paper titled "Compensatory Growth In The Bay Scallop Argopectin irradians" in 1984.  This study occurred in 1980 in the Poquonnock River – of the 1979 year class following the historic blizzard of 1978 (See Compensatory Growth In The Bay Scallop, 1984).

This storm could be the reason that bay scallops surged in 1978 and wrackline observed along Hammonasset Beach.  Investigation On The Bay Scallop Argopecten irradians In Three Eastern Connecticut Estuaries June 1980 – May 1981 US Department of Commerce Contract NA 80 – FA C – 000027 Lance Stewart, Peter Auster and Roman Zajak, October 1981 – 141 pages.  Page 1 has this segment:

"Recently 1976 – present scallop populations have reappeared in Stonington, Mystic, Poquonnock and Niantic embayment in significant concentrations.  An unusual occurrence of scallop mass mortality was reported in the Poquonnock estuary in the winter of 1977."    

But the 1980 and 1981 bay scallop seasons were poor.  Although I saw an enormous wrackline of dead small bay scallops along Hammonasset Beach in September of 1981.  I wondered how this seed arrived in this part of Long Island Sound as it would need a nearby parent stock.  The sudden appearance of bay scallop seed is found in the historical fisheries literature.  Page 569 of The Scallop Fishery (US Fisheries Commission) contains the following segment:

"At Northport, Long Island, I was assured that scallops were tolerably plentiful in that Harbor once in five years.  The second year following the season of plenty would produce a few, the third year a scattering one or two, the fourth year absolutely nothing. Then would come a sudden accession from some unknown source.  Much the same story comes from Port Jefferson, Long Island."

These reports of sudden population surges support the movement of seed by storm waters.  We have many reports of seed being cast into the shallows by storm events.

Seed Banks and Larval Traps

This wrackline along Hammonasset Beach leads me to believe as mentioned to me years ago that Northeaster storms move out seed scallops from Rhode's South Shore and moved them east into Connecticut and, if cold enough, they can survive.  The density of some Rhode Island Salt Ponds was documented in Richard Sisson's report (leaflet No. 32 – Occurrence of Bay Scallop see in Rhode Island 1970 – Project 3 – 113 – R was huge in comparison to Connecticut studies.  Occurrence of Seed Scallops (no raised growth ring, 1970).

Brightman's Pond – scallops per meter ranged from 60 scallops per square yard in four areas.

Quonochontaug Pond – Scallops per meter over 30 scallops per square yard in two areas.

Pettaquamscutt River – below Sprague bridge 80 scallops/per square yard.  Above Sprague Bridge up to Middle Bridge 60 scallop/per square yard.

Point Judith Pond – Beef Island S. W. 60 scallops/per square yard.

Conclusions:

"From the survey, it was evident that conditions in 1970 were excellent for scallop spawning and setting.  No doubt, many scallops remain undetected in the salt ponds and Narragansett Bay.  Therefore, scallop populations given in this report must be considered as a minimum estimate of the magnitude of the Rhode Island bay scallop population.

Observations suggest that a large mortality is likely to occur during the winter of 1970-71, as many seed scallops were found in shallow water where they would be exposed to the weather on extreme low tides.  Another deterrent to survival is predation, particularly sea gulls in shallow areas.  Such predation has already been observed in parts of Quonochontaug Pond.

The results of this survey indicate, barring an unexpected mortality, that the large total abundance of scallops statewide should in 1971, provide the best scallop fishing Rhode Island has experienced in several years."

This report details huge amounts of seed scallops and the necessary surveys to monitor bay scallop populations (my view T. Visel). 1980's Connecticut surveys in the Poquonnock and Niantic Rivers rarely exceeded 10 scallops per meter (See The Three Estuary study mentioned above).  Now examine the 2010 bay scallop reports (See Appendix #5) in which 82 dive surveys yielded only 32 scallops in total.  The years immediately proceeding 2010 were extremely hot and blue crabs surged in many southern New England marshes.  A National Coastal Condition Report III (EPA) Chapter Nine, Health of Narragansett Bay for Human Use (2008) contains commercial fishing pertaining to bay scallops and a possible connection to sulfide purging and compost mold (eelgrass loss).  On page 259 is found this segment following years of increasing water temperatures:

"Although the causes for many of the declines in the Narragansett Bay fisheries were unknown, some of them can be traced to changes in environmental conditions (Ardito, 2003; Oviatt et al., 2003).  For example, habitat loss can play a key role in fisheries decline.  Eelgrass beds are critical habitat for bay scallops.  Narragansett Bay once supported a large, commercial bay scallop fishery.  In 1880, more than 300,000 bushels of bay scallops were harvested from Narragansett Bay, a quantity that would be worth more than $33 million on today's wholesale market; however, in 2003, the bay scallop landings from the Bay were nonexistent.  The loss of this fishery can be traced to the loss of the scallop's habitat – eelgrass beds (Ardito, 2003).  Eelgrass beds were widespread in Narragansett Bay as late as the 1860's, and historical accounts record eelgrass beds at the head of the Bay in the lower Providence River."

It was, however, 1905 to 1915 when eelgrass thrived in shallow water and these years were the lowest for the bay scallop.
 
It is possible that seed banks (Rhode Island salt ponds) may continue to be a seed source for eastern Connecticut bay scallops after strong storms.  Certain areas of Connecticut coast (those closer to cooler ocean waters) can act as a "larval trap" and show good bay scallop crops when no nearby parent populations are present.  The lack of storms or warmer waters can both influence bay scallops and lead to the boom and bust of this popular seafood.  The orientation of Long Island Sound makes Northeast lows and strong easterly winds possible vectors for the movement of small scallops.  This would explain the enormous wrackline of small seed scallops I observed along Hammonasset Beach.  When New England's climate cooled in the 1920's, shellfish researchers investigated larval traps for oyster setting in the same period.  

In 1930, Galtsoff et al. investigated the few areas known still to have successful oyster sets and mapped several in New England.  They included Milford Harbor, Wellfleet Harbor and the Wareham River.  It was turning colder and these shallow indented bays and rivers still obtained strong oyster sets.  A larval trap developed as winds and tidal action helped keep oysters in warm water so spawning could happen (See US Fisheries Bulletin, Vol. XLVI, 1930, pp. 197-263, "An Experimental Study in Production and Collection of Seed Oysters," Paul S. Galtsoff, H. F. Drytherch and H.C. McMillin).  These 1920's spat collection experiments frequently mentioned that bottom substrates were not firm enough to support the weight of shells (pg. 203).  These areas also held marine and terrestrial dead plants, algae and the remains of leaves and other plant tissue so bottoms were often described as "soft."  The Poquonnock River is mentioned on pg. 203 as it was one of the first areas to employ off-bottom oyster spat collectors – birch brush in 1863.  

A century later the Poquonnock River would be in the news again.  This time it was for the scallops, not oysters. It may be that both eelgrass and the bay scallop can, for a certain time period, share the same habitat space.  This gives the impression of shallow water importance when over longer periods of time incorrect in terms of habitat quality.  Eelgrass may need the habitat energy to keep soil sulfides from forming and weakening its roots – sulfide toxicity while those same storms sweep in larval bay scallops into a trap, a shallow poorly flushed habitat type.  That would help explain why they appear together in shallow water fisheries.  Strong storms could alter the soil chemistry from acid organic to sandy alkaline, helping eelgrass while at the same time moving seed scallops into larval traps.  Over time, these habitats naturally would fail for both species for each would become a boom or bust, naturally.  That is what John Hammond was researching in 1982 – the impact of climate (temperature and energy) upon both species.  He also felt that sulfur was the key to habitat health for both eelgrass and bay scallops – something that today is being looked at in marine soils four decades later.  

Appendix #1

Mumford Cove Shellfish Survey

Groton, Connecticut

June 1981-A

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Region I

Surveillance & Analysis Division

60 Westview Street

Lexington, MA 02173

Acknowledgement
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency appreciates the interest and efforts of the people who volunteered and assisted in the completion of the Shellfish Survey of Mumford Cove, Groton, Connecticut.  We extend our thanks and acknowledgement to the following people:


U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Edward F. M. Wong Project Director

RHODE ISLAND DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Richard T. Sisson Principle Marine Biologist
Arthur Ganz Senior Marine Biologist
Barbara Simon Computer Programmer

RHODE ISLAND YOUND ADULT CONSERVATION CORPS
Paul Baczenski Group Leader

CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Malcolm C. Shute, Jr. Principle Sanitarian
Donald Bell Senior Sanitarian
James Citak Senior Sanitarian

CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Edward Parker Principle Sanitary Engineer
William Hogan Principle Sanitary Engineer
James Grier Principle Sanitary Engineer
Michael Powers Sanitary Engineer
Gary Powers Sanitary Engineer


MITCHELL COLLEGE, NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT
Dr. Thomas Hatfield Chairman, Life Science Department
Virginia Magee Instructor of Biology
Donna Magee Student


UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, KINGSTON, RHODE ISLAND
Timothy C. Visel Instructor of Marine Science


The Study
Introduction


Presently, and dating back for many years, Mumford Cove is closed to shellfish harvesting.  However, recreational sports such as fishing, boating and bathing on a private beach are available to residents of the immediate area.  The shellfish closure is due, in part, to a sewer outfall that empties into a stream at the Cove's headwaters and also, discharges from a sanitary landfill located north of Mumford Cove may be involved.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, State, local officials, and area residents of Mumford Cove know that unless the pollution standards are met, there will be no chance of lifting the shellfish closure imposed on Mumford Cove by the State Department of Health Services.  There are proposals to remove the sewer outfall and have it placed in an area remote from Mumford Cove.
Therefore, EPA, with the help of several organizations, performed a shellfish survey in Mumford Cove to determine the densities, type and sizes of the shellfish in the beds.  Furthermore, the value of the shellfish will be estimated and compared with shellfish at the market level.

Cove Profile
The Cove bottom is mostly sand and gravel with a slight tendency toward siltation in certain areas.  The bottom of Area 1 consists mostly of sand and gravel.  The channel bottom, however, is mostly mud and becomes anoxic toward the headwaters.  We noted that the reaches of the headwaters had the appearance of septic conditions at the time of the examination.  Intertidal zones of Area 2 are mostly gravel, sand and silty-sand.  The northeastern portion of this area shows a heavy growth of a green sea lettuce.  Most of the shallow portions, averaging about two to four feet in depth, indicate a predominance of mud and some silty sand.  The outer portion of the Cove, adjacent to the closure line, is mostly gravel, sand and cobblestone.  The bottom is fairly firm at this point.  (Tim Visel observations – It was those areas thick with sea lettuce (Ulva) that, when disturbed, smelled of sulfur (sulfide).  Nearby residents came over to talk with the group and often complained of strong sulfide smells, especially in summer.)

Appendix #2

FAO TRAINING MANUAL ON BREEDING AND CULTURE OF SCALLOP AND SEA CUCUMBER IN CHINA

CHAPTER 1
STRUCTURE AND BIOLOGY OF SCALLOPS

• Argopecten irradians, the bay scallop, has a wide geographical distribution along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. After being transplanted into China in 1982, the bay scallop gradually became one of the dominant species of scallops cultivated in China.
• Furthermore, heavier mortality occurs with higher culture density and bigger sized individuals.
• An unsuitably high culture density may be the main cause of mortality. The reasons are: (1) the scallops cannot obtain sufficient food; (2) a greater amount of metabolic waste is produced, the decomposition of which will consume great quantity of dissolved oxygen; (3) the products of decomposition, especially sulphide, are toxic to scallops; some experiments have shown that when the sulphide concentration reaches 0.3 ppm, the filtration rate of scallop is reduced by about 30 %, and at 0.7 ppm, feeding and respiration stop; and (4) the weak individuals in a crowded and adverse environment are susceptible to disease.
• Other important factors that cause mortality are high temperature and high density of fouling organisms.

Oceanology of China Seas – Volume 1, Edited by Zhau Di – Kluver Academic publishers


"The decomposition of fecal pellets of parent scallops, food debris and dead scallops by enculture bacteria as well as metabolic wastes may produce toxic ammonia. When waste materials are sedimented and oxygen in the tank is exhausted, toxic hydrogen sulfide is produced. Aeration serves to replenish oxygen in the water resulting in converting hydrogen sulfide into hydro-sulfate and at the same time restricts the growth of anaerobic bacteria, thereby reducing the production of toxic ammonia. Lowering the pH of the water can have a diluting effect on toxic ammonia."

Appendix #3

FINEST QUALITY

J. C. Hammond

PLANTER AND WHOLESALE DEALER IN

CHATHAM OYSTERS

CHATHAM, MASS. 62633

"Home of Pedigreed Oysters"

106 Main Street

November 26, 1982
Mr. Timothy C. Visel
Regional Marine Resource Specialist
Deeds and Probate Building
Barnstable, Mass. 02630


Dear Mr. Visel:
Sorry to have missed you on your recent trip to Chatham.  I had hoped we might get together so that I could show you the great potential that I believe exists here for tremendous improvement in shellfish crops.  However, since I have now pulled out my boat, it is no longer possible to do this season.
I enclose for your perusal a copy of a recent letter written to the Chatham Board of Selectmen relative to the prospective scallop crop in Chatham for the 1983 season.
Sincerely yours,
Clint Hammond
John C. Hammond   




November 22, 1982


Board of Selectmen
Town Offices
Chatham, Massachusetts 02633


Gentlemen:
During the year 1981, in letters to the Chatham Board of Selectmen, I have expressed the feeling that good management of natural shellfish crops can materially increase the size of harvests with no added expense to the town and with greater benefit to the shellfishermen.
I am convinced that a case in point presently exists in Chatham.  You are all aware that the 1982 scallop harvest has been quite beneficial to the fishermen and to the town in general.  Not a bumper crop, but a valuable one.  It presently appears that the scallop crop will be largely caught by November 30th.
The writer has been scallop fishing in Oyster River, Oyster Pond, and the Stage Harbor Area this season and can positively state that the set of scallop seed there for the 1983 season is a complete failure.  There appears to be no possible chance for a commercial scallop crop in these areas in 1983.  In the 38 years I operated an oyster business in Oyster River, I have never seen so little scallop seed there.
The 1982 scallop seed set in Pleasant Bay seems to be completely different.  There is a large amount of scallop seed in certain areas with a variety of sizes from 1½" seed to very small sizes of later setting.  Presently none of it is large enough to be poached and sold as adult scallops.  That temptation will be greater as size increases.  An early closing of the Pleasant Bay area would seem logical to protect the 1983 crop which potentially is large.
Because of the absence of seed in Oyster River and Stage Harbor, these areas could be left open without damage since there is no potential 1983 crop there.  From personal observation, there is still some worthwhile scalloping in Stage Harbor.  The scallops there are underneath heavy eel grass and will take time to catch.
In summary, I would close the Pleasant Bay area to dredging by January 1st but leave the Stage Harbor area open for the winter.  The closing of any area should be advertised well in advance to inform the fishermen.  It would be nice if you could get the Orleans Selectmen to do the same.
The Selectmen of Chatham have an opportunity to make an important decision.  If it is made in time, it can vastly affect and improve the general welfare and economy of Chatham in 1983.  Chatham can have a vastly improved shellfish program if the right steps are taken.
Sincerely yours,
Clint Hammond


JCH/c   

Appendix #4

Conversations With John Hammond Oyster Grower About Eelgrass

Bay Scallop Habitats – Eelgrass Questions from the 1980's

Tim Visel – January, 2012 

Updated January, 2024

There was a time I felt the eelgrass/bay scallop connection was significant, and my first bay scallop transplant (1978) with Ed Rhodes of NOAA NMFS and Lance Stewart of NOAA Sea Grant, I sought out the eelgrass beds behind Cedar Island in Clinton Harbor to place seed scallops, I would not do that today. In fact, my conservations with John "Clint" Hammond, a retired oyster grower on Cape Cod, points to an entire new direction, a climate /energy relationship and serious questions about the plant eelgrass in general. 
When I arrived on Cape Cod in 1981, I had already been exposed to the great debate about the scallop/eelgrass relationship by old timers who fished PT Judith Pond for bay scallops; they had much different views than my age group. At the Point Judith docks, "strong discussions" would often break out between older fishermen who towed directly over the eelgrass flats and those like myself who avoided it, believing at the time it was good for bay scallops. The older fishermen were trying to remove it; then in fact, there was too much and that angered the much younger crowd. I no longer feel that way; instead I believe red coralline algae to be the real scallop grass, not eelgrass (coralline red algae emit chemical compunds that attract scallops, eelgrass does not).
I am writing up John "Clint" Hammond's account of his research regarding shellfish habitats including eelgrass which is summarized below: 
1) That energy (storms) and climate (temperature) largely govern shellfish habitat quantity and quality and that such conditions can be defined as a "habitat history." He had made a lengthy study of the Monomoy System in Chatham after storms. 
2) Fishermen strongly resisted eelgrass returning from the 1930's dieoff, which I believe was created by extremely warm temperatures and a low energy period (1880-1920). It was not an isolated incident (as a NOAA NMFS dynamite eelgrass experiment in Niantic Bay illustrates) but a determined state/town effort as eelgrass spread from Connecticut to Rhode Island north into Buzzards Bay Massachusetts. It included machinery, Cabot cutters and herbicides and on the Cape, even Agent Orange in clay pellets (I am seeking clarification from Massachusetts.)  
3) Mr. Hammond worked with several BCF researchers, namely Paul Galtsoff and William Shaw. Some BCF papers are on the Internet today and thank Mr. Hammond for this help. He was an expert farmer, headed some civic agricultural organizations on the Cape and was highly educated in terrestrial soil sciences. He was at the end of his oystering career fighting Codium fragile, an invasive plant on his oyster grant in the Oyster Pond River in Chatham. He had battled what he believed to be another invasive plant, he believed also to be "foreign" eelgrass. Its presence here was odd, he claimed, against the prevailing winds and currents and its impact to small coves and bays. He was convinced it hitched a ride with green crabs on the first ships here from England several hundreds of years ago. His theory was that eelgrass came over in the packing seaweed to keep shellfish fresh during the large voyage here. Once here, the seaweed was just dumped overboard. It was colder then so the eelgrass did not spread that much at first; later warmer temperatures helped it to grow. At this time, no evidence linking our Zostera to Zostera in England exists, but it does seem plausible; green crabs, he claimed, came over the same way as a food (green crabs are an edible fishery in England and Europe - Italy). 
At the time, I did not fully understand what Mr. Hammond was talking about, but he kept referring to barrier beach cuts and the impacts that followed – smaller "Monomoys." He asked if they existed in Connecticut, and I replied Niantic Bay and Clinton Harbor were two. This is why, when I returned to Connecticut, I started shellfish surveys in Niantic and Clinton and found much of what Mr. Hammond described- a barrier beach habitat history beneath eelgrass in both estuaries. 
The Westport River (Massachusetts) studies (1968) shed light on the efforts on the second point, eelgrass harming shellfish, so the third question remains. Now that his first and second points are largely confirmed, he might be right on all three. Eelgrass is perhaps an older, invasive plant or strain carried here during numerous crossings, perhaps the first invasive plant to our coast? 
It was an industry practice to pack shellfish and crabs/lobsters with seaweed to keep them moist – a practice that continues today. It could be that vessels leaving the Thames River estuary would gather native eelgrass, use and just dump it over here. He had gone to the effort of collecting pressed blades samples and comparing them. That was Mr. Hammond's last remaining eelgrass question – "Is our shallow aggressive strain from Europe?"

Appendix #5

Save The Bay

Narragansett Bay

2010 Scallop Project Results

(https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd5kDn0SQIGuGjQr3MRDQAK9E5C9hieGpsWQfqdqFX3lkbksQdOQhnZE3BDl11lGtZy0eOriOTOxrKZSVZ-iTgooylT8vl2dMWMZ557EeAXMGPKP25kU6_RGYlUhxR-HWVil3o_JayhyLY5LpyiUKpl8khvi_dWrnLRVIHEyoAtS5SR-G4lBOg?key=D30CqBtBRr3LQqxNe3-m2SVJ)


2010 Scallop Project Results


Dive surveys have been competed throughout Point Judith Pond.  Dive surveys conducted in 2008 by NOAA and 2009 by Save The Bay and NOAA gave us an idea of the initial population of scallops close to our site.  From the dive surveys in 2010, we were able to estimate that there is about 0.028 scallops/meter2 in the system.  This may not sound like a lot but it is an increase from what was observed in 2008 and there is approximately 5,087,347m2 that make up the pond.
After completion of the spat bag collections and analysis, we were able to observe and measure 1,927 scallop spat.  That is an enormous increase from what we were seeing in the larger more open system of Narragansett Bay; from 2007-2009, we only found 36 spat.  In 2008, there was only 97 spat found while going through the bags that were in Point Judith Pond.
We are very happy about our restoration efforts and our results from the past four seasons and we are already in the process of planning our 2011 scallop restoration efforts. 
Save The Bay has also completed dive surveys in Narragansett Bay, Little Narragansett Bay, Quonochontaug (Quonny) and Ninigret Ponds.  The dive surveys in Quonochontaug and Ninigret Ponds were conducted to determine if the restoration efforts from previous years were self-sustaining and to better understand the scallop populations in these systems.  The dive surveys conducted in Narragansett Bay were conducted to assess the results of the caged scallop spawner sanctuary project from 2009.  Little Narragansett Bay dive surveys were completed to build upon survey work in the system in 2008-2009 to determine if shellfish restoration work is feasible, and if so, what the potential sites are.  The results from these dive surveys are as follows:

	Quonochontaug	Ninigret	Narragansett Bay	Little Narragansett Bay
# Dive Surveys	16	16	30	20
# Scallops Found	10	1	7	14
Scallops/meter2	0.00571	0.000625	0.002	0.00619

Appendix #6

EPA Long Island Sound Study Research Grant Program

2020 Research Project Descriptions

Projects will take place from 2021 to 2023

Improving Eelgrass Restoration Success by Manipulating the Sediment Iron Cycle

Investigators: Craig Tobias and Jamie Vaudrey, University of Connecticut; Chris Pickerell, Cornell Cooperative Extension
Grant Award: $323,404, plus $161,786 in matching funds
"While many Long Island Sound embayments now have improved water quality that should make them suitable for eelgrass restoration, there is a difference between the acreage of habitat that could theoretically support eelgrass and where it has actually regrown or been restored successfully. Sediment is a key component that may have been overlooked and is a potentially limiting factor for eelgrass restoration efforts to move forward, which is a key goal of the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. To develop a new restoration management framework, this project will map sediment sulfide and iron gradients in relic eelgrass beds in the Niantic River Estuary, and correlate sulfide concentrations to other sediment variables to establish easy-to-measure proxies for sulfide for use in evaluation of potential eelgrass restoration. The project will then conduct experiments to test the effect of adding iron-oxide pellets, a cost-effective tool, to sediments on porewater sulfide and solid phase iron-sulfide mineral content. This method of iron amendments could potentially be easily integrated into existing restoration techniques."

Appendix #7

Establishing restoration objectives for eelgrass in Long

Island Sound. Part I: Review of the seagrass literature

relevant to Long Island Sound

Report to the Connecticut Department of Environmental

Protection and the US EPA. 58pp.

By Jamie M.P. Vaudrey (2008)

Natural Cycle of Loss & Recovery

"In 1995, a poorly-flushed, restricted sub-estuary (Turnbull Bay) in the northern Indian River Lagoon, FL experienced a shift in seagrass species from Halodule wrightii to Ruppia maritima, coincident with increasing macroalgae biomass.  Over 100ha of seagrass disappeared from 1996 to 1997.  By 2000, seagrass had returned to its pre-perturbation levels.  This decline in seagrass was not linked to water quality issues or to a natural or anthropogenic catastrophic event.  Morris and Virnstein (2004) proposed that the loss of seagrass was part of a natural cycle, where decaying seagrass and macroalgae accumulate in beds, creating an organic ooze which stresses the eelgrass by raising sulfide levels in the sediments."

Appendix #8

"Gray Muscle Disease" of Scallops Identified

By Robert Ballou

Graduate Research Assistant

URI Marine Advisory Service

Maritimes, Pg. 14

May 1984

Commercial fishermen working off Nova Scotia and Nantucket first reported an incidence of sea scallops whose meats were flaccid and grayish.  Some of these moribund scallops were brought back to URI where they died when held in tanks under observation.  A follow up study found that 80 percent of samples collected from Narragansett Bay were similarly infected.
It thus appeared that the so-called "gray muscle disease" was fairly prevalent among the sea scallops in Narragansett Bay.  Had the disease pervaded the scallop population along the entire New England coast?  If so, a commercial fishery valued at over $100 million annually was at stake.  With major funding from Sea Grant, a cooperative research project was undertaken.  The study involved New Bedford scallop fishermen, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a team of researchers from URI.
While Pei Wen Chang, professor of animal science, took on the task of identifying the organism responsible for the disease, Saul Saila, a URI oceanographer, handled the field sampling aspects of the study.  Tows were made with a scallop dredge in an area of Narragansett Bay where diseased sea scallops were originally found.  Surprisingly, only "clappers" – empty scallop shells still joined at the hinge – were found, indicating that the entire scallop population at the study site had been decimated.
Chang and his associates quickly determined that the culprit is a rickettsia-like organism, a type of bacteria usually transmitted by an arthropod and harbored in the gills and shell lining of the scallop.  It is believed that the parasite's interference with important metabolic functions of the gills leads to muscle degeneration and atrophy (gray muscle disease) and eventual death.
No evidence of either the rickettsial organism or gray muscle disease was found in offshore scallop populations in any of the samples, leading to the conclusion that the disease agent is a coastal phenomenon.
Some of these disease-free scallops have been tagged and transplanted to cages.  With the help of divers and a boat furnished by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the cages are being continuously monitored for possible disease recurrence.
The many-pronged approach adopted by the URI team successfully identified the disease-causing agent and effectively characterized the scallop mortality in Narragansett Bay as an isolated incident.  Most important, the study showed that – for the present, at least – the disease does not pose a threat to the offshore scallop fishery.