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
In connection with the above comes the question, if we can thus
preserve scallops doomed to destruction, will it not be profitable
to transplant scallops to places where the scalloping has been
exterminated by various causes, and by means of these "seeders" furnish
succeeding generations which may populate the barren areas? This plan
is practical and feasible, and should be given due consideration. Why
should not scallops be transplanted to our Buzzards Bay harbors, to
again restock these areas? Often the attempt might fail, but there is
bound to be success if there is perseverance. The best time to plant
these scallops is in the fall, as a double service will be given: (1)
preservation from destruction of the seed scallops; (2) furnishing
spawn and young in the barren locality. Ingersoll speaks of the
restocking of Oyster Bay in 1880:--
In the spring of 1880 eel grass came into the bay, bringing
young scallops [the eel grass carries the scallops attached to
it by the thread-like byssus]; thus the abundance of that year
was accounted for, though there had not been a crop before in
that bay since 1874.
If such a restocking can be accomplished by nature, it can be done with
more certain effect with man's assistance.
_The Industry._
I. _The Methods._--The methods of scalloping follow the historical
rise of the fishery. As the industry grew more and more important,
improvements became necessary in the methods of capture, and thus,
parallel with the development of the industry, we can trace a
corresponding development in the implements used in the capture of the
scallop.
(_a_) _Gathering by Hand._--When the scallop was first used as an
article of food, the primitive method of gathering this bivalve by hand
was used. This method still exists on the flats of Brewster, and often
in other localities after heavy gales wagons can be driven to the beach
and loaded with the scallops which have been blown ashore.
(_b_) _Scoop Nets._--This hand method was not rapid enough for the
enterprising scallopers, and the next step in the industry was the
use of scoop nets, about 8 inches in diameter, by which the scallops
could be picked up in the water. These nets were attached to poles
of various lengths, suitable to the depth of water. "This method,"
writes Ingersoll, "was speedily condemned, however, because it could be
employed only where scallops are a foot thick and inches in length, as
one fisherman expressed it."
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