History of Quahaug Industry in Massachusetts
South of Plymouth harbor quahaugs have always been plentiful along the shores of Cape Cod, Buzzards Bay and the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Frequent shell heaps show that the Indians were accustomed to use this mollusk as a food, and even indulged in an occasional clam bake. Colonial records show us that the early colonists were not slow in learning to “tread out” this mollusk from the mud flats. The shells of the quahaug were much prized by the Indians for wampum beads, because of their purplish color.
Although reckoned inferior by many to the soft clam (Mya arenaria), the quahaug was dug for home consumption for years in Massachusetts, and but little attempt was made to put it on the market. The commercial quahaug fishery started on Cape Cod, about the first of the nineteenth century, growing in extent until about 1860. From 1860 to 1890 the production remained about constant. The production in 1879 for Massachusetts, as given by A. Howard Clark, totaled 11,050 bushels, valued at $5,525. It is only in the last fifteen to twenty years that the actual development of the quahaug fishery has taken place. The present production of Massachusetts is 144,044 bushels, valued at $194,687. To the popular demand for the “little neck” can be attributed the rapid development of the quahaug industry during the last ten years. This development has furnished employment for hundreds of men, and has given the quahaug an important value as a sea food. What it will lead to is easily seen. The maximum production was passed a few years ago, constant overfishing caused by an excessive demand is destroying the natural supply, and there will in a few years be practically no commercial fishery, unless measures are taken to increase the natural supply. Quahaug farming offers the best solution at the present time, and gives promise of permanent success.
The following statistics, taken from the United States Fish Commission reports, show the rapidity of the development of the quahaug fishery:—
| Date. | Bushels. | Value. | Price (Cents). |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1879, | 11,050 | $5,525 | 50.0 |
| 1887, | 35,540 | 21,363 | 60.0 |
| 1888, | 26,165 | 14,822 | 56.5 |
| 1898, | 63,817 | 50,724 | 79.5 |
| 1902, | 106,818 | 131,139 | 124.0 |
| 1905, | 166,526 | 288,987 | 155.0 |
Not only has there been an increase in production, but also an increase in price, as can be seen from the above table, which shows that the price has more than doubled between 1888 and 1902. This increase in price has alone supported a declining fishery in many towns, making it still profitable for quahaugers to keep in the business, in spite of a much smaller catch. The advance in price is due both to the natural rise in the value of food products during the past twenty-five years and also to the popular demand for the “little neck,” or small quahaug.
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.