underneath. Small clams fall through the measured gaps between the bars and are left behind. At intervals of 5-10 minutes, the dredge is brought up to check and empty if necessary.

Once they are brought aboard, the clams are put into large wire mesh boxes known as cages. Each clam cage weighs several hundred pounds empty, and several thousand full. Every vessel is allowed to carry a certain safe number of cages, but the captains and owners sometimes think they know better, and load on extras. This, combined with the massive weight and high center of gravity of the stowed dredging rig itself, affects both the stability and buoyancy of the vessel, and contributes to the high accident rate of these vessels.

Right - Empty clam cages on deck. Inused in setting out the net. The net itself is piled on the back deck. The boat's booms handle both the net and the skiff, while the crow's nest on the mast gives a bird's eye view of operations.

Setting out a purse seine

A purse seine net is a complex device with floats at the top and lead weights at the bottom. Often, a skiff is used to draw out the floating net around the fish. The purse line at the bottom of the net is then drawn in, closing it off and trapping the fish. The net is then taken aboard over a large roller, either at the side or the stern. The mesh is usually sized to let small fish escape while retaining large ones.

Most of the