Part 14

Number of scallopers, 45 Number of boats:-- Power, 3 Sail, 33 ------ Total, 36

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 scalloper, but later became considerably less. The greater part of the scallops were sold to the New Bedford Fish Company, the representatives of which bought them unsoaked from the fishermen. Certain of the fishermen, however, preferred to ship their catch to the Boston and New York markets.

CAPITAL INVESTED.

Value of boats, $10,800 Value of gear, 1,300 Value of shore property, 7,000 ------ Total, $19,100

No permits were issued in 1907-08. Previous to this year, permits were required from every scalloper. Wareham has a fish committee, the duty of which is to enforce the fish laws.

The first scalloping started in Wareham in 1879, when several boats from New Bedford commenced dredging in Wareham waters. From that time the industry rapidly developed, until it assumed considerable importance as a winter occupation. Since 1899 the industry has been practically dead until the present season of 1907-08. The Wareham scallopers to a man attribute this decline to the inroads of the destructive starfish. While the scallops have been so exterminated that no profitable fishery has been conducted the last seven years, they have not been wholly extinct, as a few could be found each year. Lately the number has been increasing, until in 1907-08 the season was very profitable. In connection with this it is said that the starfish were less numerous than usual. The prospects of another good season in 1908-09 are excellent, as "seed" scallops are said to be plentiful in many places, especially in the deep water, which furnishes protection in case of a severe winter.

_Wellfleet._

At the present time in Wellfleet Bay there is no commercial scallop fishery, although scattering scallops are found in various parts of the harbor.

_Yarmouth._

The scallop grounds of Yarmouth are on the south side of the town, on the flats which border the shore from Bass River to Lewis Bay. Part of the waters of Lewis Bay belong to the town of Yarmouth, and scallops are found over all this territory. The nature of the bottom is the same as at Dennis and Barnstable. The total area of scallop territory is estimated at 2,250 acres. The scallop grounds of Dennis are open to Yarmouth scallopers.

Both dredges and "pushers" are employed in the scallop fishery of the town. The method depends upon the location of the scallops, whether in shallow or deep water, as well as the means of the individual scallopers. Both the Chatham dredge and the "scraper" are used. Forty-one men were engaged in the 1907-08 fishery, using 15 boats and ten dories.

The production for 1907-08 was 8,000 gallons, valued at $10,480. Scallops were shipped to New York and Boston markets.

CAPITAL INVESTED.

Value of boats, $3,750 Value of dories, 200 Value of gear, 475 ------ Total, $4,425

The same laws as were quoted for Dennis, the two towns having common fishery rights.

The 1904-05 season was prosperous, as Yarmouth scallopers had the privilege of scalloping in the large bed off Dennis. The two following years were very poor, and even the last season has not been up to the average.

FOOTNOTES:

[10] E. Ingersoll, "The Scallop Fishery," United States Fish Commission report, 1881.

[11] United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 85, 1898.

[12] Statistics taken from the United States Fish Commission reports.

[13] Licenses.

[14] Return of Special Agent William C. Dunham.

OYSTER (_Ostrea Virginiana_).

_Introduction._

RESOLVES OF 1905, CHAPTER 73.

_Resolved_, That the commissioners on fisheries and game are hereby authorized and directed to make a biological investigation and report as to the best methods, conditions and localities for the propagation of oysters under the conditions found in Massachusetts waters. The commissioners may expend for the purposes of this resolve a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars a year for a period of three years.

As authorized by the above act, the Commissioners on Fisheries and Game have conducted experiments of a biological nature upon the oyster. At the start of the investigations, for a proper understanding of the various conditions in the different localities, it was necessary to make a survey of the oyster industry of the State. Recently this survey has been supplemented by sending printed questions to the oystermen, and the whole put in the form of a report, which gives an account of the industry. This first report on the oyster is merely a broad survey of the whole industry of the State, and is preliminary to future reports of a more scientific character.

_The Need of a Survey._--In 1879 Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, in his "Monograph on the Oyster,"[15] gave an excellent account of the oyster industry of Massachusetts. Since that time no complete account, either statistical or biological, has been written. Meanwhile, the oyster industry of the State, owing to its steady improvement, has changed in the past twenty-eight years, and what was true of 1879 is not true of 1907. Not only have localities changed and new areas been opened up, but also the whole industry has expanded through the enterprise and business ability of the oystermen, and to-day Massachusetts possesses an oyster fishery which more than doubles the production of 1879. Thus a survey of this fishery, by comparison with that of 1879, shows the changes that have taken place, and gives some idea of the growth of the industry.

It is hoped that this report will furnish sufficient data to give actual knowledge of the conditions of oyster culture in the State, show the success of this industry, and indicate what is essential for its future improvement. It is necessary, in view of the conflict between the quahaug and oyster fisheries, that the public understand the exact situation, and this is possible only through a published account of each industry.

_Scope of the Report._--The object of the report is to furnish information which will be of value both to the oysterman and to the consumer. Primarily the report is for the oysterman, showing the extent of the industry in his own locality and in other parts of the coast, where perhaps he is unacquainted with the conditions. While exact facts are presented for the benefit of the oysterman, this report at the same time tries to give a general description of the industry for the consumer, who perhaps knows nothing of the oyster except as an article of food.

The first part of the report has been arranged under the following headings: (1) the natural oyster beds; (2) results of the survey; (3) history of the industry; (4) the oyster laws; (5) the oyster industry; (6) general statistics. The second part considers separately the industry of each town or section.

_Methods of Work._--The statistical figures for the oyster industry are reasonably complete as the oyster fishery is on a more systematic business basis than any of the other shellfisheries. Nevertheless, on certain points it was impossible to obtain absolutely correct information, as, for instance, the area of grants, since no survey is made of the grants when leased, and the oysterman himself does not know the exact area of his granted territory. Thus an estimate has to be made by each oysterman of his granted area, and, while this is approximately correct, it cannot be considered as absolutely true.

The statistical returns were compiled by sending to each oysterman in the State a blank form, containing a series of questions, with the request that he would co-operate with the commission by answering. Many oystermen responded with complete answers, thus permitting the commission, through their aid, to publish an extended report on the oyster fishery. However, it was found impossible to obtain complete information from several towns, as a number of oystermen neglected to return these blanks. The return of each oysterman is filed at the office of the Commission on Fisheries and Game, and only the total for each town is published, thus treating as confidential the private business of individuals. The commission expresses a most cordial acknowledgment to the oystermen for their co-operation in this matter.

The other parts of the report were obtained by personal inspection of the oyster beds as to their biological conditions, by means of town records, and interviews with the oystermen. Town records, which should have given the location, number and areas of the grants, proved nearly worthless in most cases, owing to incompleteness, loss and confusion. Owing to the frequent change in selectmen, little if any information could be obtained from this source, as the new selectmen were generally unacquainted with the work of their predecessors concerning the leasing of oyster grants. The grants were often incompletely described, bounds uncertain and the acreage unknown.

The interviews with the individual oystermen furnished more and better information both in regard to the present condition of the industry and the general history for each town.

Personal inspection of the oyster grounds was made, the biological conditions noted and the area of the grants plotted on the accompanying maps. Not all these grants are worked, and parts of the cultivated grants are unfit for oyster raising. The charted area includes all grants, cultivated or uncultivated.

In reviewing the history of the industry, information was obtained from town records, oystermen who had been in the business for years, and various newspapers and periodicals. For a comparison of the oyster industry of 1879 and 1907 the excellent report of Mr. Ernest Ingersoll upon the "Oyster Industry," published in the tenth census of the United States, was used for comparison, and in many places directly quoted. Were it not for this work and the report of A. Howard Clark on the "Fisheries of Massachusetts," it would have been impossible to draw any reliable comparison with the oyster industry of twenty-eight years ago.

_Massachusetts as an Oyster State._--Massachusetts is perhaps not so well adapted for oyster culture as it is for clam or quahaug farming, and does not equal other seacoast States in the extent of its oyster industry. Nevertheless, the oyster industry is on a much firmer footing than the other shellfisheries, and is an important adjunct to the wealth of the southern Massachusetts towns.

All the oyster grants, except in the towns of Wellfleet, Eastham and Orleans, are found south of Cape Cod, as the southern shore of Massachusetts alone is adapted for the oyster industry. Along the south side of Cape Cod and in Buzzards Bay the numerous inlets and estuaries afford with their brackish water excellent ground for the cultivation of this bivalve, and many acres which otherwise would be barren have been made productive through the grant system; while the shores of Massachusetts which adjoin the waters of Narragansett Bay possess, in the Taunton, Cole and Lee's rivers, excellent waters for the growth of seed oysters. Thus Massachusetts possesses good facilities for oyster culture, which are capable of a far greater expansion than present conditions indicate.

However well developed the oyster industry is at present, there is plenty of room for improvement. It is the consensus of opinion among the oystermen that the business is developing every year,--a fact that speaks well for its future. Improvements in the oyster industry can arise in three ways: (1) investment of more capital in the business, which will allow more extensive operations; (2) more intensive cultivation of the present grounds; (3) the opening of new areas for oyster culture and the utilization of waters at present useless. Everything indicates that the oyster industry will take advantage of opportunities as soon as they are given.

_The Oyster Grant System._--Oyster culture in Massachusetts is the logical result of the failure of the natural oyster beds. When these beds became destitute of oysters through overfishing, it was necessary that means should be used to perpetuate the stock. Oyster planting had been successfully carried on in the States south of Massachusetts, and it was merely a question of experiment whether the oyster would respond to the same methods in Massachusetts. Thus oyster culture arose in this State at first as an experiment, later as an established industry. Grants were given, as through this way only could oyster planting become a success, and the "free fishery" people were forced to bow to public opinion, which decreed that grants should be leased. Thus oyster grants arose from necessity, as in no other way could Massachusetts preserve her oyster supply.

The system of oyster grants and oyster culture, in spite of its many failings, has shown what can be done to preserve and increase a natural shellfish industry if the proper methods are used. Planted beds have furnished enough spawn to maintain the natural beds, which would have long ago been depleted through the inroads of overfishing. They have preserved a fishery which would have disappeared almost completely, and established a better and more extensive industry, not only benefiting the oystermen, but also those indirectly associated with the business, such as teamsters, transportation companies, etc.

In the following report various abuses of the present system of oyster culture will be enumerated, and it is only necessary to state that many evils must be eliminated before the oyster industry can obtain its maximum expansion. Such evils as town politics, disputes with quahaugers, etc., will have to be remedied. The greatest obstacle which now checks the oyster industry is the _lack of protection_. Until complete protection is given to the oysterman, the industry will never attain to its full development. The removal of the abuses by the organization of the oyster industry of the State under a unified system is the best way to secure proper regulation and improvement of the oyster industry.

_The Natural Oyster Beds._

While there has been much discussion whether oysters were ever native in Massachusetts Bay, or merely the result of southern "plants," the consensus of opinion is that there were natural oyster beds in existence when the first settlers came to this coast. Not only do historical records show this, but the remains of the natural beds at the present time indicate that oysters have existed for centuries. Thus there seems to be no reasonable doubt that the northern coast of Massachusetts, as well as the southern, once possessed extensive natural oyster beds.

I. _Location of the Natural Oyster Beds._--(1) _Parker River._--A natural bed of oysters once existed in the Parker River at Newbury, and even fifty years ago it is said that oysters could still be obtained from this natural bed. About 1882 the experiment of fattening oysters for market was made, and many bushels were bedded on the flats during the summer by an oyster firm at Newbury. These oysters not only grew well, but threw considerable spawn, furnishing a good set in the river. Oyster raising was then tried, but the result was a failure, as the oysters which were planted in too shallow water were killed during the winter.

(2) _Mystic and Charles Rivers._--Mr. Ernest Ingersoll states that: "In 1634 William Wood, in his 'New England's Prospect,' speaks of 'a great oyster bank' in Charles River, and another in the 'Mysticke,' each of which obstructed the navigation of its river." He locates the Charles River beds as either off Cambridgeport or near the site of the Boston Museum of Natural History.

Dr. G. W. Field, chairman of this department, in his report in 1902 as biologist to the Charles River Dam Commission, makes the following statement about the Charles River oyster:--

The oyster (_Ostrea_), formerly abundant, is no longer living, and, from what indications I have been able to gather, probably became extinct within twenty-five years. Their dead shells are brought up by dredging operations. Their peculiar elongated shape is the result of growth being concentrated at the upper end, as a result of their closely crowded position in the bed, or of an attempt to keep the opening above the accumulating mud, and thus avoid being smothered. The fact that there are few signs of small "seed oysters" tends to prove that the bottom was so muddy that they found few places to "set." From the elongated shape of the shells may be inferred that the amount of sedimentation going on in that particular region was rapid during the life of the group of oysters whose shells are to be found in quantities in the material dredged between Harvard and Brookline bridges. This sediment need not necessarily have been sand or clay, or any material which is persistent, but it might have been flocculent organic débris, which remained but a short time and left little or no evidence, beyond its effect upon the shape of the oyster shells.

In the above account Dr. Field not only locates the original oyster beds of Charles River, but also furnishes evidence which indicates the cause of their extinction, _i.e._, the débris and sewage, or waste poisonous, polluting materials, of a large city emptying into the river. This is not only true of the Charles, but also of the Mystic and Taunton river beds, which have been destroyed in like manner.

(3) Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, in his report on the "Oyster Industry of the United States," in 1880 mentions that natural oyster beds were once at Weymouth, Ipswich, Barnstable and Rowley. Nothing further can be learned concerning these places.

(4) _Wellfleet._--An extensive oyster bed was found at Wellfleet Bay, which not only furnished a sufficient supply for the first settlers, but enabled the inhabitants of Wellfleet to carry on a considerable trade by shipping them to Boston and other ports, until it was finally destroyed in 1775. Its destruction was due to overfishing and the utilization of the shells for lime, which soon destroyed the natural bar.

(5) _Chatham._--A natural oyster bed once existed in the Oyster Pond, but no trace of it now remains.

(6) _Harwich._--Herring River in the town of Harwich still possesses the remnants of a natural oyster bed, as occasionally a few oysters can be gathered along its banks. This bed once comprised a stretch of three-quarters of a mile along the river.

(7) _Yarmouth._--The town of Yarmouth once possessed a natural oyster bed in Mill Creek, but this was fished out by 1895 and then granted for oyster culture.

(8) _Barnstable._--There is a natural oyster bed at Centerville.

(9) _Martha's Vineyard._--Native oysters are said to have existed in the brackish ponds on the south side of the island; a few are found there at the present time.

(10) _Falmouth._--A few native oysters are to be found in the salt ponds on the south coast of the town. In Squeteague Pond and Wild Harbor oysters were once native.

Buzzards Bay comprises the best natural oyster territory in the State. At the present time the natural oyster industry has been supplanted by oyster culture, which gradually took the place of the declining natural oyster fishery. While natural beds still exist to some extent, they are, to all practical purposes, extinct. Where once there were extensive areas, now there are only scattering oysters. In many cases the beds have been so completely destroyed that the ground has been granted for oyster culture. That Buzzards Bay is a "natural set area" can be readily seen by the amount of "seed oysters" that are caught by the oystermen who plant shells for the purpose.

(11) _Bourne._--(_a_) _Red Brook Harbor._--In 1879 Ernest Ingersoll says:--

On the southern shore of this harbor, about a mile from its head, exists a living bed of natural oysters some 7 acres in extent, under the protection of the town for public benefit. The oysters growing on it are reported to be large, but not of extraordinary size, scalloped and roundish, differing in no respect from aged oysters grown after transplanting to another part of the bay.

In 1907 this natural bed had been reduced to 3 acres, and the unproductive part granted.

(_b_) _Barlow River._--In 1873 an act was passed to protect the oyster fishery in Barlow River, by ordering a closed season of one and one-half years. The passage of this act shows that a natural bed of importance existed in this river, and that even in 1873 the effects of overfishing were apparent. At the present time there are but few native oysters in Barlow River, or, as it is sometimes called, Pocasset River.

(_c_) _Monument River._--A natural bed also existed in Monument River, which became so depleted that about 1875 the river was surveyed and divided into small grants.

(12) _Wareham._--(_a_) _Wareham River._--Natural oysters are found in the Wareham or Agawam River, which has been one of the most productive natural beds in the State, and still furnishes a scant living for two or three men. In view of the overfishing, it is surprising that any of the natural oysters have survived, except on reserved areas of the town, which are opened every three or seven years for the capture of "seed."

(_b_) _Weweantit River._--The Weweantit River, which lies between the towns of Wareham and Marion, has a larger and better natural oyster bed than the Wareham River, but this has also been depleted by overfishing, except on the reserved areas of the town of Wareham.

(13) _Dartmouth._--A few oysters are found in Slocum's River.

(14) _Westport._--Westport River has also a few oysters.

(15) _Taunton River, Coles River and Lee's River._--These rivers once had extensive beds of natural oysters, but now are wholly devoted to growing oysters. Old records and laws show how important these natural beds were, and also furnish an excellent illustration of the effects of overfishing combined with water pollution from manufacturing sources.

II. _Decline of the Natural Oyster Beds._--The above-mentioned examples furnish abundant proof that the natural oyster beds of the State, which once were sufficient to supply the wants of our forefathers, have declined to such an extent that at the present time but few natural oysters are tonged for the market. Where there were formerly many acres of excellent native oysters, to-day there is scarcely an acre that can be called good oyster fishing, except in a few cases where the towns maintain a nearly perpetual closed season. No proof of the decline is necessary; it is an established fact.

There have been two principal causes which have ruined the natural oyster beds; besides these two,--(1) water pollution and (2) overfishing,--certain geographical changes have doubtless occurred, which have accelerated the decline.

(1) _Water Pollution._--The effect of water pollution through the sediment deposited by sewage and manufacturing waste on the natural oyster beds is well illustrated by the destruction of the Charles River beds. This is also shown in a less degree in the Taunton River.