Provides a detailed history of both the shellfish industry and the National Shellfisheries Association. It chronicles nearly a century of notable successes and depressing failures of the shellfish industry. Carriker describes the effects of two world wars and the great depression of the thirties, the pressures of growing pollution in coastal waters, the significance of research advancements, and the emergence of the field of aquaculture on both shellfish workers and the various associations related to the shellfish industry.