A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of MassachusettsMassachusetts. Commissioners on Fisheries and Game
Science
A Report upon the Mollusk Fisheries of Massachusetts
Massachusetts. Commissioners on Fisheries and Game
Shellfish fisheries -- Massachusetts
The town law requires each year the possession of a permit costing $1
before a person is entitled to dig quahaugs for sale. Nineteen of these
licenses were issued in 1906, but not more than 2 or 3 of these went to
men who depend upon quahauging for a living. The remaining 16 engage in
the fishery to a greater or lesser extent in the summer season.
The annual production for 1906 was 800 bushels, valued at $1,500, as
about half were "little necks." Mediums are not numerous, and are
bought by the quahaug dealers at $1.25 per bushel and sold by them at
so much per hundred.
In Marion the quahaug industry once flourished to a marked degree, but
at present is very much on the decline. The coves, which once were
bedded with "little necks" and quahaugs, are now nearly exhausted. No
reasons exist for this condition of affairs, so far as known, except
overdigging. Gradually for many years the supply has perceptibly
declined, until now it is at a very low ebb. Where a thousand barrels
were formerly produced, it is doubtful if a thousand bushels are now
dug during the entire season, and the overworked beds are becoming each
year more depleted. A. Howard Clark, in his report on the fisheries of
Marion, estimates the quahaug production in 1880 as 2,000 bushels. The
yield for 1906 is only 800 bushels, which shows an alarming decline
in production. If once the waters of Marion could produce a large
amount of quahaugs, there is no reason why they cannot again be made to
produce the same, or more.
SUMMARY OF INDUSTRY.
Area of quahaug territory (acres), 400
Number of men, 19
Number of boats, --
Value of boats, --
Number of skiffs, 19
Value of skiffs, $200
Value of implements, $50
_Production._
"Little necks":--
Bushels, 400
Value, $1,100
Quahaugs:--
Bushels, 400
Value, $400
Total:--
Bushels, 800
Value, $1,500
_Mashpee._
The quahaug industry at Mashpee is at a low ebb. Natural facilities
are favorable, but a lack of initiative on the part of the inhabitants
causes a small production. The best grounds are found in Popponessett
Bay and River, where a territory of 200 acres includes several oyster
grants which are worked but little. On the east side of Waquoit Bay
scattering quahaugs are found in Mashpee waters.
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