David Lawrence Belding

“ It is fair that a town which improves its own shellfisheries should not be interfered with by a town which has allowed its shellfisheries to decline. While this is true perhaps of the clam, quahaug and oyster, it does not hold true of the scallop. The result of this close-fisted policy has resulted in the past in a great loss in the scallop industry. The town law in regard to scallops is all wrong. The scallop fisheries should be open to all the State, and no one town should "hog the fishing," and leave thousands of bushels to die from their dog-in-the-manger attitude. ”

“ To-day the shellfisheries of Massachusetts, owing to great natural resources, are as good or better than those of any other coast States, and only await development under proper methods to ensure a bright future. The Commissioners on Fisheries and Game can only point the way of reform; the result lies in the hands of the intelligent voters of this Commonwealth, whose action decides the future success or failure of the shellfisheries. It should be the object of every thinking voter, whether he be fisherman or consumer, to see that the right action be taken in regard to the shellfisheries. ”

“ It may be safely affirmed that the individual ownership of property has proved not only a success but even is a necessary condition of progress, and has in fact at length become the foundation of all society. It inevitably follows that if the system is justifiable in the case of farm lands it is equally justifiable in the case of the tidal flats, for the same principle is involved in each. It is therefore fair to assume that if private ownership of farm land has proved to be for the best interests of human progress, so private ownership of the tidal flats will also be a benefit to the public. ”

“ Until such a time as the public realize that economic disposal of sewage must take place on land rather than in water, laws absolutely preventing any contact with the infected shellfish should be enforced without exception. In instances like these it is greatly to be deplored that but rarely under our system of government can legislation, which the best knowledge and common-sense demand for the public weal, be passed in its adequate and beneficial entirety, but is so frequently emasculated in the selfish interests of a few persons. ”

“ These men have proved that this style of farming is practical, and that as a money-making proposition the quahaug is far ahead of the oyster.
As affairs exist to-day in Massachusetts, a few men alone have the privilege of raising quahaugs, while the rest stand idle. Theoretically and legally, no one has the right to plant and raise quahaugs in the State; but practically and secretly it is done with great success. Who can blame the oysterman for raising quahaugs with his oysters, in view of the fast-declining quahaug industry? Rather by so doing he is helping perpetuate the natural supply. ”

“ The public mollusk fisheries only foster such types of non-producers, and prevent them from becoming desirable citizens. The best class of fishermen and citizens has no advantage over the worst, but is practically compelled to engage in the same sort of petty buccaneering and wilfully destructive digging, in order to prevent that portion and privilege of fishing which the law says shall belong to every householder and freeman of the Commonwealth from being appropriated by these humble freebooters, who are at once the annoyance, the terror and the despair of cottagers and shore dwellers. ”

“ The entire shore front of the Commonwealth is scoured and combed by irresponsible aliens and by exemplars of the "submerged tenth" who are now but despoilers, but who if opportunity were present might become cultivators of the flats rather than devastators. The thoughtful fisherman, who would control the industry in a measure, is under present conditions overruled by his selfish or short-sighted fellow workers, and is of necessity forced to join their ranks by the clinching argument that if the shellfisheries are to be ruined anyway, he might as well have his share as long as they last. ”

“ In any age of progress the ancient and worthless must be buried beneath the ruins of the past, while the newer and better take their place. There is no more flagrant example of obsolete methods and traditions holding in check the development of an industry than with the shellfisheries, and it is time that Massachusetts realized these limitations. ”

“ Our present shellfish laws are a heterogeneous, conflicting patchwork, devised to meet temporary and local conditions, utterly inadequate to-day to permit the fishermen to secure a just return for their labor, and completely sacrificing the public interests. In many cases the responsible tax-paying citizen cannot find a place to dig a family supply of clams or quahaugs, neither can the industrious native fisherman get a fair day's pay for his labor. ”

“ Is the Quahaug Fishery declining?—The decline of the quahaug fishery is well recognized. Even the production figures, which, when stimulated by high prices, usually give a deceptive appearance of prosperity to a declining industry, since more men enter the fishery, show a decline in the last few years. When such a point is reached,—when, in spite of higher prices and more men, the annual production becomes less and less,—not many years will pass before the industry will collapse completely. ”

“ As long as town politics, partiality and carelessness enter into the leasing of oyster grants, and thus deprive certain people of their rights, it is safe to say that the oyster industry can never get beyond its present state of development. One solution of the difficulty might be full State control of leasing the grounds for the oyster industry. This is possibly too radical a step at present, and the system can perhaps be so adjusted as to remedy its defects without taking the control of the fishery entirely away from the hands of the town. ”

“ Much of the territory now held unimproved would either be brought up to a standard of excellence or given over to the quahaugers, and in either case direct benefits would result. If legislation were so arranged that any man might take, by the payment of a nominal rent, a small piece of ground, which he could hold as long as he improved it, the oyster industry could be put on a firmer footing; a man confident of enjoying the fruits of his labors could thus improve his grant, and, as he acquired skill and knowledge, could add other land and ultimately expect to build up a successful business. ”

“ It would be quite as logical for a town or city to prohibit by by-laws the use or digging of potatoes or any other food crop, when the supply was short, rather than to attempt to increase the supply. An increasing demand cannot be checked by any such ill-advised measures, but can be met only by a corresponding increase in the natural production. ”

“ There is but one way now known of artificial propagation for the scallop industry, and that is by transplanting in the fall the abundant set from the exposed places to the deeper water before the seed is killed by the winter. It is merely assisting nature by preventing a natural loss, and in no sense can properly be termed propagation. It is merely a preventive, and money used in this way to preserve the scallops is well expended. ”

“ It is not our purpose to discuss the underlying principle involved in private ownership of property,—it is simply our purpose to call attention to two facts: (1) if individual control of real estate is just, private ownership of tidal flats and waters is likewise just; (2) that individual control of such areas is the only practical system yet devised capable of checking the alarming decline in the shellfisheries and of developing them to a normal state of productiveness, and rendering unnecessary an annually increasing mass of restrictive legislation. ”

“ As long as no protection is given, clam farming can never become possible, as the whole success of the enterprise depends wholly upon the planter's having complete control of his land. The present law gives absolutely no protection, as according to the old free beach law a person has a right to dig a mess of clams anywhere between the tide lines, no matter whether natural or planted. This practically discourages clam farming, however profitable, as no clammer is going to the labor and expense of planting clams, if the next person who comes along has a legal right to dig as many as he pleases. ”

“ The ill-advised policy of the past has been to check the demand by various devices, such as closed seasons, limited daily production, etc. These not only have proved without benefit to the fisherman, but also have hurt the consumer by the increased price. The demand can be checked by raising the price, but this tends towards a class distinction between the rich and the poor. The poor man should be able to enjoy "the bounties of the sea" as well as the rich. The policy of the future should be not to check the demand, but rather to increase the supply. ”

“ The city of Lynn has within its tidal flats the latent resources of an important industry. Its clam grounds could, if properly utilized, yield a great increase over their present inconsiderable return. No legislation on the part of the city authorities has intervened to improve the shellfish production or to prevent the depletion of valuable territory which has been allowed to gradually lapse into an unsanitary desert. While at low tide about 400 acres of flats spread over the broad harbor or border the banks of the Saugus River, but 40 acres of this wide expanse yield any appreciable revenue. ”

“ Men seldom seem to have a weighty sense of responsibility toward others than those who immediately follow them. The history of the prodigality of our ancestors since their occupation of this great continent has not fully been written,—and it should be, in such a way that the present generation might know it; for sometimes it seems as if the present generation were as criminally careless of the natural resources that remain to it as were any of those that are gone. ”

“ A good flat should have a soil which is tenacious and compact, affording at the same time easy digging. Probably the best soil is a mixture of fine sand and mud in a ratio of one-third mud to two-thirds sand, as this amount of mud gives the right degree of tenacity.
The growth of a clam depends upon the circulation of water over the flat, as the current carries the food, and, therefore, the more current the more food for the clams. Current also keeps the bed clean, and prevents contamination and disease from spreading among the clams. ”

“ It has been a most fortunate thing for Massachusetts that the oyster grant system was inaugurated as soon as the decline of the natural fishery became manifest, else at the present time there would be no oysters in the State, for it is recognized that the present natural beds are perpetuated by the spawn which comes from the various oyster grants. Foresight has indeed provided an excellent oyster industry, which is rapidly improving. It is only necessary to apply similar methods of culture to the other shellfish industries of the State to insure their future also ”

“ The capitalist, who seeks a productive investment for money or brains, or both. Under present laws, such are practically restricted to distribution of shellfish, except in the case of the oyster, where capital may be employed for production as well,—an obvious advantage both to capital and to the public.
(3) The fishermen, who, either as a permanent or temporary vocation, market the natural yield of the waters; or, as in the case of the shellfisheries, may with a little capital increase the natural yield and availability by cultivating an area of the tidal flats after the manner of a garden. ”

“ If, therefore, the oyster industry is to be encouraged at all,—and it certainly has very great possibilities,—this fact of private ownership must be accepted at once. If, as some assert, it is an evil, it is a necessary evil, and it has come to stay. The questions remaining for legislation on this subject are the proper regulation of this private ownership, so as to give the maximum of encouragement to the oyster fishery, and the minimum of danger to the rival shellfish industries.
The oyster and quahaug industries openly clash. ”

“ This system of ten-year grants operates directly to discourage the outlay of capital. If the oysterman were sure of reaping the benefits of his labor and capital, it would be to his selfish interest to develop his own grant to its maximum capacity. But what far-sighted business man will invest money in a business which stands a good chance of being completely "wiped out" in a few years? ”

“ To the popular demand for the "little neck" can be attributed the rapid development of the quahaug industry during the last ten years. This development has furnished employment for hundreds of men, and has given the quahaug an important value as a sea food. What it will lead to is easily seen. The maximum production was passed a few years ago, constant overfishing caused by an excessive demand is destroying the natural supply, and there will in a few years be practically no commercial fishery, unless measures are taken to increase the natural supply. ”

“ The clam industry at Plymouth is at a low ebb. The same problems which baffle progress at Duxbury and Kingston are present here with all their complications. The combined available territory, exceeding 1,600 acres, save for a few unimportant sections, is wholly barren. While it is true that fully two-thirds of this great area is eel-grass waste, and in its present state of little value for the production of clams, there remains over 500 acres of good flats, for the most part sand well adapted for shellfish culture. It is certain that a flourishing industry has existed here in former times. ”

“ In the future Massachusetts will have to utilize all her wealth of natural resources, to keep her leading position among the other States of the Union. To do this she should turn to her sea fisheries, which have in the past made her rich, and hold forth prospects of greater wealth in the future. Untold possibilities of wealth rest with her shellfisheries, if obsolete methods and traditions can be cast aside. ”

“ I. An Increasing Demand.—The indirect cause of the decline of the shellfisheries is the increased demand. To-day more shellfish are consumed than ever before, and the demand is much greater each succeeding year. It is an economic principle that there must be an equilibrium between supply and demand. If the demand is increasing, either the supply has to increase to meet the demand, or the price of the commodity goes up and a new equilibrium is established. The supply must equal the demand of the market. ”

“ Instead, our intelligence, as a race, has reached that degree of development which should give it the courage to consider "things as they are."
Considering things as they are, we must admit that we are not realizing our obligations to future generations in many of the ways in which we are misusing our natural resources. This waste is often deliberate, though usually due to the notion that nature's supplies, especially of living organisms, are limitless. ”

“ But most serious of all is the fact that all the edible mollusks, notably the clam, quahaug, oyster and mussel, act as living filters, whose function is to remove from the water the bacteria and other microscopic plants and animals. Most of these microscopic organisms serve as food for the mollusk; and in instances where the mollusk is eaten raw or imperfectly cooked, man is liable to infection, if the bacillus of typhoid fever or other disease chances to be present in the mollusk. ”

“ Another solution is to continue the system of town control, but to have a State commission which would act as a board of appeal for all who felt aggrieved at the judgment of the selectmen.
The advisability of ten-year grants has caused much comment among the oystermen. Practically all grants are now given for this period of time. As a system it is deservedly unpopular, since it does not help the quahaug interest, and it checks the development of the oyster industry. The oyster business, unlike the other branches of shellfish culture, requires a considerable capital. ”