Fairhaven
The clam industry at Fairhaven suffers from the unsanitary condition of the flats, though in a lesser degree than at New Bedford. The finest clam grounds of this town lie in the proscribed district of the Acushnet River, and handling or eating shellfish from this area is a positive menace to the public health.
A strip of gravel-mud about 100 feet in average width fringes the shores of Priest’s Cove, and this strip furnishes at present the best digging. Scattered patches of clams occur along the indentations of Sconticut Neck, around West Island and along the coast of Little Bay. No men are regularly employed in digging clams, though a rather inefficient attempt is made at times to supply the local demand.
Summary of Industry.
| Number of men, | — |
| Capital invested, | — |
| Production, 1907:— | |
| Bushels, | 100 |
| Value, | $100 |
| Total area (acres):— | |
| Sand, | — |
| Mud, | 25 |
| Gravel, | 25 |
| Mussels and eel grass, | — |
| Total, | 50 |
| Productive area (acres):— | |
| Good clamming, | — |
| Scattering clams, | 25 |
| Barren area possibly productive (acres), | 25 |
| Waste barren area (acres), | — |
| Possible normal production, | $7,500 |