| Skipjacks & Martha Lewis Information | ||
| 1 The Chesapeake Bay has been an oyster fishery since the early 19th century. In response to the depletion of the Bay's oyster population (from 15,000,000 bushels in the 1880's to 3,800 bushels in 1999), a series of conservation laws have been passed. In Maryland, one law in particular allowed only sail-powered vessels to dredge for oysters. Based on this restriction, one type of ship, "the Skipjack" evolved and survives today. 1 The Skipjack type of boat evolved from traditional, generally flat-bottomed bay crabbing skiffs, enlarged and given a V-shaped wooden hull. Meeting the need for an easily and inexpensively-constructed vessel, they often were built by house carpenters or by the watermen themselves (costing $3,000 to build in 1905 and $140,000 in 1999). In 1985, a large number of the remaining skipjacks (35) were documented by the Maryland Historic Trust and the Maryland Historical Society and submitted for recognition in a thematic National Register nomination. Seven of the skipjacks recognized through this process presently dock at Wenona, Chance, Janes Island and Deal Island in Somerset County where they continue to be used for harvesting oysters. |
||
|
|---|
