Yarmouth is the only town in the State which requires a license for taking oysters from a natural bed.
Barnstable.
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. The causes which have brought the cultivation of oysters in this town to so flourishing a condition have been fourfold: first, Barnstable has a long coast line, much cut up by bays and rivers, which give it a very large available area; secondly, this area is remarkably suited for the cultivation of oysters, as it is for the most part hard, clean bottom, in comparatively shallow water and well sheltered from storms; thirdly, there is little damage from the enemies of the oyster,—the starfish, winkle and drill, fourthly, the waters of the township are notably pure, free from contamination, and well adapted for the production of a rapid-growing oyster of excellent quality.
Barnstable township contains several villages, three of which, Cotuit, Marston's Mills and Osterville, are prosperous centers of the oyster fishery. Hyannis, a fourth village, once maintained a business of this nature, which proved unprofitable and has now practically disappeared. Oyster grants are scattered along the shores of Popponesset River and Bay, in Cotuit harbor, Bluff Channel, South Bay, Osterville Narrows and at Marston's Mills. In addition, a large but indefinite territory along the southern shore, as indicated on the map, is maintained as experimental grants.
Cotuit is by far the most important center of the industry. Here the fishery is conducted on an extensive scale. The white, clean sandy bottom and the remarkably pure waters of the bay produce an oyster with a bright, clear shell, which distinguishes it from oysters grown elsewhere. This Cotuit oyster is much sought for by hotels and fancy dealers, and is universally considered par excellence among Massachusetts oysters.
Barnstable, though supporting an immense industry, has by no means exhausted her latent resources. Extensive experiments to increase the productive area of the town have been carried on for the past few years. A strip of territory along the southern coast, some 4 miles long and 3 miles wide, has been granted. This territory is of doubtful utility, as the bottom is largely shifting sand exposed to the full force of southerly gales. These grants have hardly been in force long enough to demonstrate their possibilities, but it is probable that a large territory may be thoroughly suitable for the future expansion of the oyster industry.
Unfortunately, several oystermen did not make statistical returns, thus rendering a complete record for the Barnstable oyster industry impossible. The majority of the oystermen willingly responded, and the present report comprises only those returns which have been sent in.
The total area comprised by the grants, 29 in number, is 188 acres, of which 121 acres are of hard bottom, suitable for oyster culture. There is very little shifting bottom. The usual Cotuit bottom is a clear sand, which is especially favorable for the production of fine oysters.
Thirty-three men are employed from six to eight months each year in the industry, which gave in 1906-07 a production of 25,850 bushels of marketable oysters, valued at $48,050. Except for a small natural oyster bed at Centerville, no "seed" is caught in Barnstable, and is all brought from Long Island and Connecticut. Several firms plant only large oysters, bedding them in the spring and taking them up the following fall, when they have acquired the Cotuit flavor.