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Final Report: Fishery Independent Stock Assessment of Virginia's Hard Clam Population of the Chesapeake Bay
Wesson, James
Wesson, James
Abstract
The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) is one of the most important commercial species harvested in Virginia’s Bay waters. As the oyster and other commercially harvested species have declined, a portion of the displaced workforce has joined the clamming fleet. Declining catches have raised concern for both watermen and fishery managers; however, little current information was available for either hard clam standing stock levels or age structure. The current project used a fishery independent stock assessment method using a hydraulic patent tong sampling device to survey hard clams in the James River-Hampton Roads area. When compared with results from previous stock assessment estimates in this area, the current clam densities and standing stocks were not obviously different. Age and size structure has changed since earlier studies, with less larger and older clams in the current population. Declines in the commercial clammer's catch per day may be explained by a decrease in the number of high density clam areas over the many years of fishing. Today's clam populations may be more uniformly distributed, resulting in the individual clammer catching less clams per day because in each patent tong grab there are less clams and the physical limit on the number of tong grabs that can be handled on any one day.
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1995-06-07
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science
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Natural Resources