State Laws.—There are no State laws governing the quahaug fishery, except the regulations of the State Board of Health in regard to sewage pollution in Acushnet River and Boston Harbor.
Town Laws.—Regulation of the quahaug fishery was given to each town by the State under the general shellfish act of 1880; the industry is therefore entirely governed under the by-laws of the town.
An interesting comparison can be made between the quahaug regulations of the different towns. Good, useless and harmful laws exist side by side. One town will pass excellent regulations, and enforce them; another town will make the same, but never trouble to see that they are observed. Edgartown enforces the 1½-inch quahaug law; Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet have the same law, but fail to enforce it. Many towns allow the small seed quahaugs to be caught and shipped out of the State, thus losing $4 to every $1 gained. These towns refuse to make any regulation, such as a simple size limit, which would remedy this matter, and have no thought for the future of their quahaug industry. All that can be said is that the quahaug laws are the best of the town shellfish regulations, and that is but faint praise.
Statistics of the Quahaug Fishery.
In the following table the towns are arranged in alphabetical order, and the list includes only those towns which now possess a commercial quahaug fishery. In giving the number of men, both transient and regular quahaugers are included. In estimating the capital invested, the boats, implements, shanties and gear of the quahauger are alone considered, and personal apparel, such as oilskins, boots, etc., are not taken into account. The value of the production for each town is based upon what the quahaugers receive for their quahaugs, and not the price they bring in the market. The area of quahaug territory given for each town includes all ground where quahaugs are found, both thick beds and scattering quahaugs.
| Town. | Number of Men. | Capital invested. | Number of Boats. | Number of Dories and Skiffs. | 1907 Production. | Area in Acres. | Value of Yield per Acre. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bushels. | Value. | |||||||
| Barnstable, | 25 | $850 | — | 25 | 2,500 | $3,700 | 950 | $3.95 |
| Bourne, | 46 | 1,000 | — | 46 | 5,400 | 8,400 | 2,500 | 3.36 |
| Chatham, | 50 | 5,750 | 25 | 25 | 6,700 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 5.00 |
| Dennis, | 15 | 150 | — | 10 | 500 | 950 | 200 | 4.75 |
| Eastham, | 25 | 8,000 | 12 | — | 10,000 | 11,500 | 4,000 | 2.87 |
| Edgartown, | 70 | 12,000 | 42 | 18 | 20,000 | 32,000 | 1,800 | 17.77 |
| Fairhaven, | 115 | 5,000 | 11 | 100 | 15,000 | 16,500 | 3,000 | 5.50 |
| Falmouth, | — | — | — | — | 100 | 115 | 400 | .29 |
| Harwich, | 7 | 200 | — | 7 | 1,500 | 2,550 | 100 | 25.50 |
| Marion, | 19 | 250 | — | 19 | 800 | 1,500 | 400 | 3.75 |
| Mashpee, | 7 | 70 | — | 5 | 250 | 285 | 400 | .71 |
| Mattapoisett, | 28 | 500 | — | 28 | 800 | 1,500 | 750 | 2.00 |
| Nantucket, | 48 | 6,750 | 30 | 10 | 6,294 | 8,487 | 5,290 | 1.60 |
| Orleans, | 75 | 25,000 | 30 | 25 | 33,000 | 41,350 | 1,500 | 27.56 |
| Wareham, | 50 | 1,000 | — | 50 | 6,000 | 10,500 | 1,300 | 8.08 |
| Wellfleet, | 145 | 27,500 | 100 | — | 33,000 | 41,350 | 2,500 | 16.54 |
| Yarmouth, | 20 | 240 | — | 10 | 2,200 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 4.00 |
| Totals, | 745 | 94,260 | 250 | 378 | 144,044 | 194,687 | 28,090 | Average |
| $6.93 | ||||||||
Barnstable.
Barnstable, with its extensive bays both on the north or bay side and on the south or Vineyard Sound side, offers great possibilities for quahaug production. Although the quahaug ranks, in productive value, the third shellfish industry of Barnstable, the natural resources permit an expansion under cultural methods which would place the quahaug ahead of the oyster, which at the present time is the leading shellfish industry of the town.
In Barnstable harbor, on the north coast of the town, a few quahaugs are found scattered in isolated patches. (See Map No. 9.) These are relatively of small importance commercially, and no regular fishery is carried on. In the future the vast barren flats of this harbor may be made productive of quahaugs as well as clams, although at present the total area of quahaug grounds is hardly 5 acres.