A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of Massachusetts

Massachusetts, situated at the northern limit of the quahaug industry of the United States, is handicapped in comparison with other States, as only the southern waters of the St...

(1) Nine grants, covering an area of 176 acres of both flats and deeper water, extend out from Mayo's Beach a distance of 1,500 feet. These grants extend along shore from Commer...

In the last ten years it is safe to say that the catch has fallen off fully 75 per cent., and nothing but the constant advance in prices and lack of profitable employment has pr...

It is not difficult to determine the reasons for the failure of the culture experiment at Essex. The areas upon which clams were planted were those which were at the time unprod...

(1) _Unintelligent Laws._--One of the worst features of our town shellfish laws is their extreme unfitness. Numerous laws which are absolutely useless for the regulation and imp...

_Hyannis._--Although the scallop industry on the north coast of the town is extinct, it still flourishes as of old on the south coast. The bulk of the business is carried on her...

==========================+==========+==========+========== | 1907. | 1879. | Gain. --------------------------+----------+----------+---------- Production (bushels), | 562,991 |...

(2) _Overfishing._--The primary cause of the decline of the natural oyster beds was overfishing. This is particularly true of the beds south of Cape Cod and in Buzzards Bay, whi...

We herewith transmit a special report upon the mollusk fisheries of Massachusetts, as ordered by chapter 49, Resolves of 1905, relative to scallops; chapter 73, Resolves of 1905...

The quantity of scallops taken during 1907-08 was approximately 10,000 bushels, valued at $13,100. During October the catch was about 15 bushels per day for the average scallope...

The last four seasons have been very successful, as when scallops were scarce the increased price more than made up for the diminished supply. The 1904-05 season was favorable,...

The grants should be leased for a limited period of years, with the privilege of renewal provided the owner had fulfilled the stipulated requirements of the lease. In order, how...

Barnstable is the great oyster town of the Commonwealth, as it has the twofold distinction of possessing the most extensive industry and producing the finest quality of oysters....

In 1885 the institution of a public hearing was inaugurated. This was a concession to the hostile quahaug element, and allowed the public the opportunity of protesting against t...

The adductor muscle is called by the dealers and fishermen the "eye," a name given perhaps from its important position in the animal, and its appearance. The color of the "eye,"...

_Shallow v. Deep Water Quahauging._--Two kinds of quahauging are found in Massachusetts,--the deep and the shallow water fisheries. This arbitrary distinction also permits a div...

IV. _Attempts to develop the Industry._--Various efforts have been made to restrain overdigging the clam flats, by local regulations, particularly by "close" seasons. These atte...

The quahaug fishery of the town of Harwich is carried on in that part of Pleasant Bay which lies within the town limits. In the southern waters of the town, on the Sound side, s...

=======================+=================+=============================== |1879. |1907. | -----------------------+-----------------+------------------------------+ Annual produc...

The catching of oyster "seed" at Wareham is more important than the raising of marketable oysters; 22,100 bushels of seed, valued at $12,090, were exported last year (1906-07)....

At Cotuit the quahaugs run one-third "little necks," one-third mediums and one-third large. Here several men, using long-handled rakes, make from $3 to $5 per day in favorable w...

Taken in the order named, the Ipswich River has in itself a great variety of clam ground. Both sides of the river for nearly 3 miles are fringed with bars, mainly of mud though...

The condition of the clam industry at Kingston is in many respects parallel to that at Duxbury. The clam flat area (some 600 acres) is very much smaller, but the character of th...

A few scattered sections repay the clammer for his labor, and from these sections perhaps 300 bushels a year are dug for home consumption. Four or five men are employed at inter...

=============+======+=========+=================+===========================+ | | |1907 PRODUCTION. | TOTAL AREA. | | | +--------+--------+-----+-----+-------+-------+ |Number|...

The clam industry at New Bedford was never of any great importance, but the unwise methods of sewage disposal of the city, whereby the effluent enters the harbor in close proxim...

The clam flats at Truro are confined principally to the Pamet River. At the mouth of this river near the head of the harbor bar is a sand flat comprising several acres, where th...

(2) _Katama Bay._--The best clam flats of the town are situated in Katama Bay, and extend over a considerable territory. These flats, consisting of a coarse, sandy soil, lie con...