| Year | 1966 | 1971 | 1974 | 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 |
| thousand acres | |||||||
| Approved for harvest | 8,100 | 10,362 | 10,560 | 10,685 | 11,402 | 12,304 | 14,853 |
| Harvested limited | 2,090 | 3,738 | 4,232 | 3,533 | 5,435 | 6,398 | 6,721 |
| Conditionally approved | 88 | 410 | 387 | 587 | 1,463 | 1,571 | 1,695 |
| Restricted | na | 30 | 34 | 55 | 637 | 463 | 2,106 |
| Conditionally restricted | na | na | na | na | na | 0 | 119 |
| Prohibited | 2,002 | 3,298 | 3,811 | 2,891 | 3,335 | 4,364 | 2,801 |
| Total | 10,190 | 14,100 | 14,792 | 14,218 | 16,837 | 18,702 | 21,574 |
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Survey, Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessments Division, The 1995 National Shellfish Register of Classified Growing Waters (DOC, NOAA, ORCA, Silver Spring, MD, 1997).
Notes: Based on National Shellfish Registers published only in years indicated. Data do not include Alaska, Hawaii, or waters designated as unclassified. The total acreage of classified shellfish growing waters varies with each register. There may be several reasons why shellfish harvest is prohibited, including water quality problems, lack of funding for complete surveying and monitoring, conservation measures, and other management/administrative actions.
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