The main areas of clam-producing territory lie in the Annisquam River and in the Essex River in West Gloucester. The grounds in the Annisquam are the more productive. This river is some 4 miles long, and is bordered for the greater part of this distance with tidal flats. Of these the sand flats predominate, though there are large areas of mud and extensive beds of mussels. On the extreme head of the river, known as the Dumfudgeon region, dredging operations for the Gloucester canal have somewhat impaired the flats, but as a whole the river seems in every way suitable for the production of an abundant harvest of clams.
The flats of West Gloucester, including a portion of the Essex Spit, are largely unproductive. The Spit is the only flat of any extent in this region which is at present of real economic value; the remaining flats, scattered along the south shore of the Essex River and its tributary creeks, are for the most part practically barren.
The total area of clam flats in Gloucester approximates 550 acres. Of this, some 250 acres are sand, 200 mud, while there are about 100 acres of mussels and eel grass, which cannot be considered at all adapted for clam culture. Only a fraction of the whole, 75 acres, more or less, is good clamming; a scant 100 acres produces scattering clams; 275 acres are barren, though capable of producing clams; while 100 acres may never be made productive.
Eight men dig regularly on these flats the year round, and 23 others work intermittently. The capital invested amounts to over $600, and the annual output exceeds 6,000 bushels, valued at $8,000. Most of the clams produced at Gloucester are shucked either for market or bait.
Local legislation has no bearing on the shellfish question, and no effort is being made either to better conditions in the clam industry or to check its steady decline.
The industry has fallen off greatly in the past few years. In 1875 there were 90 regular clammers, and a man could dig 6 bushels to a tide, where now 8 regular and 23 intermittent clammers find it difficult to get from 1½ bushels to 3 bushels per tide.
Comparison of 1907 with 1879.
| YEAR. | Production (Bushels). | Value. | Men. | Capital Invested. | Price. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1879, | 13,978 | $5,200 | 92 | $2,000 | $0.40 |
| 1907, | 6,000 | 8,000 | 31 | 600 | 1.33 |
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | 31 |
| Capital invested, | $600 |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 6,000 |
| Value, | $8,000 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 250 |
| Mud, | 200 |
| Gravel, | — |
| Mussels and eel grass, | 100 |
| Total, | 550 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 75 |
| Scattering clams, | 100 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 275 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | 100 |
| Possible normal production, | $70,000 |