Buzzards Bay.
The section of Massachusetts bordering the shores of Buzzards Bay supports a flourishing quahaug, oyster and scallop fishery, capable of great development. The clam industry, however, never very extensive, is of very slight significance at present, and can never attain the same degree of importance as the other shellfisheries, owing to the limited area available for clams. To those familiar with the harbors of Newburyport and Duxbury and their vast tidal flats with their latent possibilities, the shores of Buzzards Bay present indeed a notable contrast. Bluff and hilly for the most part, and frequently rocky, nowhere do they show extensive flats suitable for clam culture. That clams grow wherever opportunity permits is evident, for they are found on gravelly stretches or among rocks all along the coast, except in those localities openly exposed to the full force of the sea. But allowing for all possible favorable features, the lack of any considerable territory is a disadvantage that will forever act as a barrier to any expansion. Falmouth and Dartmouth on the east and west sides of Buzzards Bay respectively differ materially from the remaining towns of the district, in the fact that the characteristic soil of their clam grounds is sand; while the other towns have little in the shape of available territory except gravel stretches along the shores of coves, small areas of mud, and the rocky beaches of points and headlands. The yearly output hardly anywhere suffices for the needs of home consumption. Nowhere is any attempt at exportation possible. The business, such as it is, is carried on in a very intermittent fashion, chiefly in the summer, with but a small investment of capital.
Special local regulation seems to remain aloof from the problem of insuring a future clam supply. That the combined area of all the towns of Buzzards Bay does not equal that of a single town in the Cape Ann district is an undeniable truth; but the fact nevertheless remains that an industry far more considerable than exists at present could be supported, and it is truly to the interest of the towns of this region to make the best possible use of their limited advantages.
Falmouth.
Falmouth has a long coast line not only on Buzzards Bay but also on Vineyard Sound. The flats at North and West Falmouth on the bay side are similar to those of Wareham and Bourne, though there are several small patches of quite good digging. On the southern shore there are clams scattered along the coasts of the various indentations, particularly at Waquoit Bay.
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | — |
| Capital invested, | — |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 200 |
| Value, | $175 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | 40 |
| Mud, | 5 |
| Gravel, | 5 |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 50 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | 2 |
| Scattering clams, | 8 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 40 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | — |
| Possible normal production, | $6,400 |
Bourne.
The clam industry at Bourne is practically extinct. Scarcely any clamming is carried on by the inhabitants of the town, even for their own use, as clams have become so scattering that it hardly pays to dig them. The territory is much the same in extent and general character as that of Wareham, but it has been over-dug to a greater degree, and has become nearly barren.