The Fresh-Water Mussel Industry of the Lower Tennessee River: Ecology & Future

• Main Author: Grace, Randall
• Format: Others
• Published: TopSCHOLAR® 1974
• Subjects: Agricultural and Resource Economics; Animal Sciences; Aquaculture and Fisheries; Earth Sciences; Economics; Food Studies; Geography; Human Geography; Life Sciences; Nature and Society Relations; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/2409; https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3414&context=theses

The fresh-water mussel industry of the Tennessee River is nearing an end. Overharvesting, habitat alterations, and pollution are the major contributors to the depletion of the mussel resource, upon which the shell industry is based. A history of unconcern by shell harvesters and weak conservation enforcement by governmental agencies, has left the major waterways of the United States nearly void of commercial clams. The lower Tennessee River presently supplies the mussel industry with nearly all the important species of mollusks. If this industry is to be maintained in the United States, ways to preserve and propagate the mussel population must be sought. A number of recommendations have been submitted in this work that could aid in the protection of the mussel fauna. Limitations or harvesting methods, more stringent enforcement of existing laws, and extended research on propagation possibilities are suggested as aids in the preservation of this valuable natural resource.