REPORT

To the Honorable General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations:

GENTLEMEN:-We, the undersigned Commissioners of Shell Fisheries, beg leave to report to your Honorable Body the condition of the Department of Shell Fisheries, together with the acts of the Commission relative thereto. This report is made in accordance with the provisions of the law, and covers the fiscal year ending December 31st, 1921. This report contains the receipts and disbursements of the Department, together with the names and addresses of lease holders of oyster ground within the State, also the number of acres leased and the amount of rental due the State from each lease holder, as of record in the office of the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries on the thirty-first day of December, 1921.

(CHAPTER 209) "Of Scollop Fisheries."

The provision in the law reducing the number of bushels to be taken "in any one day" from twenty-five (25) to fifteen (15) passed at the January Session of 1920, is, we believe advantageous to the scollop industry, it means a longer scollop season, less loss from over production, and a product in better condition when placed on the market, and is of benefit to the public and the fishermen. We wish to again reiterate what was set forth in our report to your Honorable Body of last year in regard to the open season on scollops, and in this respect desire to call to your attention recommendations made to your Honorable Body by the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries in report rendered in January, 1918, it being just as applicable to-day as it was at that time, namely, we believe that there might be slight changes in this statute that would increase its efficiency that is, that the period of time allowed the fishermen to take scollops from the beds, which is at the present time from

September 1st, to January 1st, might be changed to the advantage of the scollop fishermen, and also to the great advantage of the general public. It is a pretty thoroughly and well understood fact that during the month of September scollops increase in size, nearly as much as in any other two months of the year, and that when the law allows them to be taken at the first of September, we are losing from one-third to one-half the growth of scollops. During the month of September, not only do they grow rapidly but harden up and make a much more palatable food. Another advantage to be gained by shortening the season, is the protection of the seed scollop in the month of December. If the seed has done well and developed rapidly during the summer and early fall, it has reached a point in size where it is a great temptation for the fishermen to gather them during the month of December, in fact as was the case in the fall of 1921, there was very little difference in size between the seed of the summer of 1921, and the old scollop from the summer crop of 1920. As the price of scollops during the month of December is usually very high many of the fishermen are apt to yield to the temptation of taking this seed on which we depend for the succeeding seasons crop.

Scollops do not live for a term of years as other shellfish do. The life of a scollop is approximately twenty or twenty-two months, that is a scollop developed from the spawn of July or August will live to itself spawn the following July or August, and if not caught up the following open season (from September to January) will seldom live through another winter, as our catch is practically completed in Rhode Island during the first month of the open season, and as there are very few adult scollops left in our waters after the middle of October a shortening of the open season will not work a harship on anyone, but will in our opinion be a decided benefit to all concerned, during the month of September allow for a larger growth of the adult scollop, and will during the month of December, give protection to the seed scollop on which we depend for the next season's crop after they in turn have spawned. For the above very obvious reasons we recommend that Chapter 209, Section 3 of the General Laws, entitled "Of the Scollop Fisheries" be amended to read as follows: