Marker #1

1. Oystermen harvested oysters from the Maurice River Cove by a dredge or tongs.

2. Oysters were off-loaded from schooners into floats along the banks of the Maurice River where they were left to fatten and to remove impurities.

3. Oysters were forked from the float into scows.

4. Scows were moved under the covered wharves at the Shipping Sheds.

Shell Trade: Planting and Harvesting
The public's appetite for oysters was the driving force to harvest the oyster. Beginning in the 1700's the oyster industry was managed much like farming. Oysters grow naturally in the upper Delaware Bay seed beds. In the spring they were transplanted to the privately leased planted or harvest grounds located in the Maurice River Cove. By time of the winter harvest, the oysters planted several years prior had grown fatter and tastier in the higher saltier waters. This "farming" of oysters continued for hundreds of years until 1993 when oystermen were allowed to harvest oysters straight from the seed beds to the market

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