New Bedford
The scallop industry at New Bedford has been in existence since about 1870, and has furnished a livelihood for an average of 15 men ever since. Of late years the industry has shown a marked decline.
In 1879 A. Howard Clark says:—
Scallops are plentiful in the Acushnet River, and large quantities are taken with dredges from October through the winter. The business of late years has greatly increased.
About the same time Ernest Ingersoll also writes:—
In the Acushnet River and all along the western shore of Buzzards Bay these little mollusks abound, and their catching has come to be of considerable importance in that locality. Mr. W. A. Wilcox, who sends me notes on the subject, says that it is only eighteen years ago that a fisherman of Fairhaven (opposite New Bedford) was unable to sell 5 gallons that he had caught. But the taste has been acquired, and a local market has grown up to important proportions, so that in 1880 14 men and 10 small boats (dories) were dredging for scallops in Buzzards Bay from the middle of October to the middle of January. Mr. Wilcox says: “These small boats will take from 10 to 75 bushels a day.” These men are not willing to work every day, however, since the tautog and other fishing calls their attention, and there is danger of overstocking the market. It therefore happens that the total catch reported for both New Bedford and Fairhaven men will not exceed 6,400 gallons, valued at $3,864, 60 cents being a fair price in this and the Boston market. The value of the investment devoted to this business at Fairhaven is about $120.
The scallop industry of 1907 cannot be compared with that of former years. The amount of scallops taken is not one-third of the former production. More men are engaged in the business than twenty-five years ago, but the beds are raked clean in a shorter time. The annual yield has sadly fallen off, in spite of improved methods of capture and increased number of fishermen. This decline cannot here be attributed to either of the natural enemies of the scallop, as neither the starfish nor oyster drill are abundant. Severe climatic conditions and overfishing by man are the direct causes of this decline.
The scallop area of New Bedford comprises approximately 400 acres, principally in the Acushnet River and in Clark’s Cove.
In 1906-07, 38 licenses were issued by the city for scalloping. This is a marked decrease over former years. Probably not all these men fish regularly. In the last few years the season has been rather short, lasting between three and four weeks, as the scallops were practically all caught in that time.
The capital required for the business, consisting of cat boats, skiffs, dredges, shanties, etc., amounts to about $5,600; but this is merely transient, and is only employed for three or four weeks, and then devoted to other fisheries.
Annual Production.
| Year. | Bushels. | Gallons. | Value. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1905-06, | 1,000 | 1,000 | $3,000 |
| 1906-07, | 1,200 | 1,200 | 3,000 |
| 1907-08, | 700 | 700 | 917 |
All scalloping is done by dredging from either cat boats or dories. Since 1879 improvements have been made, and cat boats instead of dories, each manned by one man with six dredges, now do the work once wholly performed, as Ingersoll says, by dories. All the scalloping takes place in deep water.
When the law of 1905 made the Acushnet River and Clark’s Cove forbidden shellfish territory, because of the sewage pollution of the harbor, the capture of scallops in season was still allowed. This was based on the principle that there is no danger in eating the clean “eye” of the scallop, although as a matter of fact there is actual danger of typhoid infection to those handling anything from sewage-polluted waters.
The following notes were made Nov. 21, 1905, upon the fishery of that year:—
At the opening of the season a bed of scallops was discovered just outside the harbor beyond the light. Twenty-five boats set to work immediately, but there was not a sufficient supply of scallops to keep them long employed, and one by one they dropped out, until by November 21 only two or three boats were still engaged in the fishery.
The scallops of this year were of large size, 2½ to 2¾ inches, and turned out a gallon of “eyes” per bushel,—an excellent yield, as the average scallops only shuck out 2½ to 3 quarts to a bushel of shells. If a man could obtain a gallon per day by November 21 he was lucky, and owing to the high retail price, he made a fair day’s wages.