![]() Each clam cage weighs several hundred pounds empty, and several thousand full. ![]() Once they are brought aboard, the clams are put into large wire mesh boxes known as cages. It is estimated that the entire area of the Grand Banks is dragged over every year. In inshore areas and bays, dredging like this is extremely destructive of aquatic vegetation and shellfish beds, and is prohibited. There must have been something especially good at this location to be worth dragging over it repeatedly in circles. Even the trails of much smaller scallop dredges are quite obvious to divers. ![]() The marks are on the order of one foot deep. Side-scan sonar image of bottom marks left behind by a clam dredge. It is still probably the most important local commercial fishery. Hydraulic dredging for surf clams began in the 1940s and reached its peak in the 1960s. Here, water drains from her dredge as it is hauled up to check the catch. Enterprise is of the old side-trawl design. Most modern vessels take the dredge over the stern, while older vessels take it over the side. A better view of the massive clam dredge and water hoses, stowed up in the angled A-frame, with the black hydraulic hose folded on top. ![]() ) The clam docks along the Manasquan River in Point Pleasant Sherri Ann heads out from Point Pleasant for a cruise. ( All of the red boats in Point Pleasant are owned by Foxy-Kelleher Inc. The older, smaller independent clammers have all but died out, and the industry is now dominated by about 50 corporate fleet-owned vessels, some of which are of enormous proportions. Larger vessels have an economic advantage over smaller ones, especially under present-day catch rules. Since clams live in the sediment and must be dug out, the clamming gear is large and heavy, requiring a large and powerful vessel to operate it. ![]()
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