Loading...
October 20, 1994 - People and Whelks Love'ScallopsgA • The Suffolk Times • October 20, 1994 People and Whelks Love'Scallops By Paul Stoutenburgh If you haven't been scalloping by the time you read this, you've missed the best. Scallops are synonymous with our East End and a crop that people many years ago looked forward to each fall for that little extra to make their budgets squeak by. Besides the regular baymen, who know all the tricks of the trade, the av- Focus on Nature erage Joe would supplement his income by getting out the old scallop dredges and spend his weekends scalloping. To- day everyone seems to be getting into the act. When we went on Monday we met more people we knew coming and going to the scalloping grounds of Ori- ent than we'd seen in our local stores, but then who knows anyone in the big shopping stores of today. We had put off scalloping since the first day the season opened but because we were expecting friends from Maine we thought Monday would be our last chance. I'd just reconstructed a small fiberglass boat that would fit readily into the pickup and so, with it loaded with all the paraphernalia of nets, bas- kets, oars, motor, etc., we were off. The day didn't start very nice. It was over- cast and cold with a strong wind out of the northwest. We drove to Orient and launched the boat at the town ramp where we actually had to wait in line. The lot was full of cars, trucks and trailers and some were even out on the street, but this was just the beginning of the congestion we'd see to the south towards Pete's Neck where there must have been 50 people walking and scalloping and boats all over the place with their dip nets. Some had peek boxes that made vision into the water so much clearer for seeing the scallops. These peek boxes are nothing but a box or container with a glass bot- tom. I've never seen them used to the extent they were this year. It was all -- WHELK AND SCALLOP —One of the enemies of a scallop is the whelk. Here we see one attached and ready to have a meal of one of our bay scallops. sorts of fun for most, plus you'd get a mess of scallops for your reward. I'm not much for crowds so we headed in another direction to where only one or two lone boats were drifting. The water was a bit riled so it was nice of a neighbor who was just returning from his day with the family to loan us one of his peek boxes. If the water is clear enough and there is no wind, you can just look down and pick them up but with the strong wind we were having and the bay being so busy, the peek box was a must. I had a Farmer John wet suit on and snorkeled for mine. How the temperature of the water has changed from those warm days of summer. After an hour I was ready to call it quits. We'd gotten a nice mess, but I was bet's nook Back 82 Years Ago Oct. 19, 1912 Concern Over Sale of Steamer: Farmers are talking this week over the announcement that L.H. Hallock, who owns the Halyoake Farm, is to sell the steamer Halyoake. The men around the village have been having lively discussions every night this week wondering how the Montauk Steamboat Co. will handle the business another year, as the Halyoake is said to have carried more produce this season than was shipped from the Main Street wharf. The Colonel Will Recover. The entire nation was shocked Tuesday when it became known that a madman attempted to assassinate Colonel Roosevelt. Fortunately, the wound is not considered a dangerous one at this writing. Although millions of people politically disagree with the Colonel, everybody regrets this attempt to take such a use- ful and valuable life. 50 Years Ago Oct. 20, 1944 Bandage Brigade: In order that quota of surgical dressing be made by the Greenport Branch of the American Red Cross is completed by the end of November it is most necessary that more workers come and make these dressings. Cauliflower Crop Off: A 75% loss in the cauliflow- shaking since this particular kind of suit has no jacket. I shook so much I could hardly hold the cup of hot tea Barbara had so thoughtfully brought along. A warm jacket and a wool hat started to bring back some of the warmth I'd lost in picking up the scallops from their murky bottom. These were, in my estimation, some of the biggest scallops I've ever seen and as we opened them back home every one we took out seemed oversized. Probably one of the major factors in such a good season was the seed program the town is involved with. Here they put out tiny scallops that grow in the rich waters of our bays. Years ago we left it to Mother Nature and the seasons would be up and down depend- ing on countless unknown factors. er crop is reported by County Farm Agent Walter Been fol- lowing a survey made of the fields which normally yield a revenue of close to $1,000,000 and which, next to potatoes, is Suffolk County's largest agricultural crop. The prolonged summer drought and damage caused by the hurricane are given as the principal factors in the second blow dealt to farmers this year. 25 Years Ago Oct. 24, 1969 DDT Outlaw Requested: A recommendation to the Southold Town Board that the use of DDT be banned in the Town came out at the Southold Town Conservation Advisory Council meeting. The recommendation was in the form of a resolution and also included a recommendation that farmers using other types of residual chemicals dike their farms to keep runoff waters from leaching into the sea or fresh water ponds. Beach Bestowed: The Southold Town Board voted to accept as a gift the Stephenson Beach Corporation prop- erty comprising 48 1.2 acres of wetland and beach property with 3,800 feet of waterfront including 1,800 feet on Long Island Sound and 2,000 feet on Orient Harbor. The Town Board members were quite vocal in stating their apprecia- tion of the great generosity of this gift to the Town. One of the great losses to our scallop production was the eel grass that the whole eastern seaboard lost during the '30s. When young scallops are first hatched they are free - swimming, eventually settling on a surface where they attach themselves by a thread. This was why eel grass was so important for it protected them just like a nursery until they were old enough to break free and grow on their own. Today, in place of the eel grass, we have codium or spaghetti grass which has moved into many of our bays and creeks. I guess it's better than nothing. Slowly eel grass is coming back to the East End but as yet has not established itself in the upper bays. Enemies of the Scallop The brown tide which we all heard about devastated the scallop industry and during the dark years there were practically no scallops harvested. Other known enemies of the scallop are the starfish and whelks. Starfish actually open the scallop with their powerful arms, then slip their stomach into the opening of the scallop and digest it. I saw no starfish where I was working the bay, but I did see many whelks. One I handed Barbara was wrapped over the shell of a scallop in the process of devouring it. The way they get into the scallop is a bit different from that of a starfish. Once on the scallop, they wait until it opens and then with a quick movement put their thin -edged shell in between the opening. Once it has gained that foothold, a long proboscis slips in and cuts the adductor muscle, then the whelk is free to feed. Barbara watched the whelk I handed her with the scallop attached and saw the long proboscis move out from the whelk, but being out of water the process soon stopped and the scallop fell off. Usually scallops can swim away when they sense they are being attacked by jetting water out of the opening alongside the hinge, but the real beauty of the scallop is in the line of eyes that surround the top and bottom inside each shell. These colorful, blue - emerald eyes make the scallop when it opens a handsome animal. Each person holding a valid shellfish permit is allowed to take a half- bushel, which is plenty for a good meal. I hope those of you who are not able to gather your own will take advantage of this time of the year and get a mess of scallops to enjoy, for there's nothing to compare with our local bay scallops. Seed Harvesters Sought by DEC The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking individuals or groups to collect seeds from indigenous coastal plants for the DEC's tree and shrub seedling program. Seeds collected from the rugosa rose, bayberry, beach plum, red cedar and pitch pine will be planted to produce seedlings used to revege- tate coastal areas of Long Island. Seeds must be harvested by Dec. 1. The state nursery will pay rates ranging from $20 per bushel of pitch pine to $180 per bushel of red cedar seeds. Those interested may contact Jerry Farrell at 444 -0285.