Shellfish The early settlers had a nearby source of high protein food in the form of shellfish. “I can take every

kind of shell fish within one quarter of a mile from my door, and oysters in particular, a great abundance? wrote Thomas Hooper of Bedeque in 1785. Bedeque Bay was obviously well stocked with oysters as well as a variety of soft shells including clams and quahaugs. In the early years, the Dunk River estuary may have been populated with oysters. Siltation, however has eliminated this resource. Mud diggers have taken shell-rich sediment from the Dunk River in the Lower Freetown area proving that the resource did once exist

in this portion of the Dunk River.

According to the Prince Edward Island Magazine for 1900, Bedeque Bay was an important source of oysters. “It is indeed well known that in the forties (18405), Bedeque Bay, produced considerable quantities for export, and the size and quality of the Bedeque Oyster has never been surpassed? Today Bedeque Bay remains a valuable oyster harvesting area. A large portion of the Bay has been closed to primary harvesting in recent years due to bacterial contamination. Oysters taken from the closed areas must be transferred to an open area and allowed to purify themselves prior to harvesting for human consumption.

Insects Many would not classify insects as a resource but they do play a vital role in nature’s food cycle. Insects

are a source of food for many organisms in addition to their well known role as pests. Some of the common useful insects are the ladybird beetle, spider, bumble bee, carpenter bee, hornet, water beetle and earthworm. Some of the pests found in Freetown are: horse flys, warble flys, house flys, wheat midges, mosquitoes, fleas, lice, moths, locusts, potato beetles, long-horn beetles, june bugs, mites, ticks, tiger beetles, ground beetles

and aphids.

Probably the most renowned insect in the Freetown-Bedeque area is the mosquito. The Dunk River marshes have long been blamed as the major source of mosquitoes by the local inhabitants. Several attempts to drain or spray the marshes and eradicate the mosquito have been attempted over the years. These attempts have failed and the mosquito remains a source of irritation to local citizens.