Oyster (Ostrea Virginiana)
Introduction
Resolves of 1905, Chapter 73.
Resolved, That the commissioners on fisheries and game are hereby authorized and directed to make a biological investigation and report as to the best methods, conditions and localities for the propagation of oysters under the conditions found in Massachusetts waters. The commissioners may expend for the purposes of this resolve a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars a year for a period of three years.
As authorized by the above act, the Commissioners on Fisheries and Game have conducted experiments of a biological nature upon the oyster. At the start of the investigations, for a proper understanding of the various conditions in the different localities, it was necessary to make a survey of the oyster industry of the State. Recently this survey has been supplemented by sending printed questions to the oystermen, and the whole put in the form of a report, which gives an account of the industry. This first report on the oyster is merely a broad survey of the whole industry of the State, and is preliminary to future reports of a more scientific character.
The Need of a Survey.—In 1879 Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, in his “Monograph on the Oyster,”15 gave an excellent account of the oyster industry of Massachusetts. Since that time no complete account, either statistical or biological, has been written. Meanwhile, the oyster industry of the State, owing to its steady improvement, has changed in the past twenty-eight years, and what was true of 1879 is not true of 1907. Not only have localities changed and new areas been opened up, but also the whole industry has expanded through the enterprise and business ability of the oystermen, and to-day Massachusetts possesses an oyster fishery which more than doubles the production of 1879. Thus a survey of this fishery, by comparison with that of 1879, shows the changes that have taken place, and gives some idea of the growth of the industry.
It is hoped that this report will furnish sufficient data to give actual knowledge of the conditions of oyster culture in the State, show the success of this industry, and indicate what is essential for its future improvement. It is necessary, in view of the conflict between the quahaug and oyster fisheries, that the public understand the exact situation, and this is possible only through a published account of each industry.
Scope of the Report.—The object of the report is to furnish information which will be of value both to the oysterman and to the consumer. Primarily the report is for the oysterman, showing the extent of the industry in his own locality and in other parts of the coast, where perhaps he is unacquainted with the conditions. While exact facts are presented for the benefit of the oysterman, this report at the same time tries to give a general description of the industry for the consumer, who perhaps knows nothing of the oyster except as an article of food.
The first part of the report has been arranged under the following headings: (1) the natural oyster beds; (2) results of the survey; (3) history of the industry; (4) the oyster laws; (5) the oyster industry; (6) general statistics. The second part considers separately the industry of each town or section.
Methods of Work.—The statistical figures for the oyster industry are reasonably complete as the oyster fishery is on a more systematic business basis than any of the other shellfisheries. Nevertheless, on certain points it was impossible to obtain absolutely correct information, as, for instance, the area of grants, since no survey is made of the grants when leased, and the oysterman himself does not know the exact area of his granted territory. Thus an estimate has to be made by each oysterman of his granted area, and, while this is approximately correct, it cannot be considered as absolutely true.
The statistical returns were compiled by sending to each oysterman in the State a blank form, containing a series of questions, with the request that he would co-operate with the commission by answering. Many oystermen responded with complete answers, thus permitting the commission, through their aid, to publish an extended report on the oyster fishery. However, it was found impossible to obtain complete information from several towns, as a number of oystermen neglected to return these blanks. The return of each oysterman is filed at the office of the Commission on Fisheries and Game, and only the total for each town is published, thus treating as confidential the private business of individuals. The commission expresses a most cordial acknowledgment to the oystermen for their co-operation in this matter.
The other parts of the report were obtained by personal inspection of the oyster beds as to their biological conditions, by means of town records, and interviews with the oystermen. Town records, which should have given the location, number and areas of the grants, proved nearly worthless in most cases, owing to incompleteness, loss and confusion. Owing to the frequent change in selectmen, little if any information could be obtained from this source, as the new selectmen were generally unacquainted with the work of their predecessors concerning the leasing of oyster grants. The grants were often incompletely described, bounds uncertain and the acreage unknown.
The interviews with the individual oystermen furnished more and better information both in regard to the present condition of the industry and the general history for each town.
Personal inspection of the oyster grounds was made, the biological conditions noted and the area of the grants plotted on the accompanying maps. Not all these grants are worked, and parts of the cultivated grants are unfit for oyster raising. The charted area includes all grants, cultivated or uncultivated.
In reviewing the history of the industry, information was obtained from town records, oystermen who had been in the business for years, and various newspapers and periodicals. For a comparison of the oyster industry of 1879 and 1907 the excellent report of Mr. Ernest Ingersoll upon the “Oyster Industry,” published in the tenth census of the United States, was used for comparison, and in many places directly quoted. Were it not for this work and the report of A. Howard Clark on the “Fisheries of Massachusetts,” it would have been impossible to draw any reliable comparison with the oyster industry of twenty-eight years ago.
Massachusetts as an Oyster State.—Massachusetts is perhaps not so well adapted for oyster culture as it is for clam or quahaug farming, and does not equal other seacoast States in the extent of its oyster industry. Nevertheless, the oyster industry is on a much firmer footing than the other shellfisheries, and is an important adjunct to the wealth of the southern Massachusetts towns.
All the oyster grants, except in the towns of Wellfleet, Eastham and Orleans, are found south of Cape Cod, as the southern shore of Massachusetts alone is adapted for the oyster industry. Along the south side of Cape Cod and in Buzzards Bay the numerous inlets and estuaries afford with their brackish water excellent ground for the cultivation of this bivalve, and many acres which otherwise would be barren have been made productive through the grant system; while the shores of Massachusetts which adjoin the waters of Narragansett Bay possess, in the Taunton, Cole and Lee’s rivers, excellent waters for the growth of seed oysters. Thus Massachusetts possesses good facilities for oyster culture, which are capable of a far greater expansion than present conditions indicate.
However well developed the oyster industry is at present, there is plenty of room for improvement. It is the consensus of opinion among the oystermen that the business is developing every year,—a fact that speaks well for its future. Improvements in the oyster industry can arise in three ways: (1) investment of more capital in the business, which will allow more extensive operations; (2) more intensive cultivation of the present grounds; (3) the opening of new areas for oyster culture and the utilization of waters at present useless. Everything indicates that the oyster industry will take advantage of opportunities as soon as they are given.
The Oyster Grant System.—Oyster culture in Massachusetts is the logical result of the failure of the natural oyster beds. When these beds became destitute of oysters through overfishing, it was necessary that means should be used to perpetuate the stock. Oyster planting had been successfully carried on in the States south of Massachusetts, and it was merely a question of experiment whether the oyster would respond to the same methods in Massachusetts. Thus oyster culture arose in this State at first as an experiment, later as an established industry. Grants were given, as through this way only could oyster planting become a success, and the “free fishery” people were forced to bow to public opinion, which decreed that grants should be leased. Thus oyster grants arose from necessity, as in no other way could Massachusetts preserve her oyster supply.
The system of oyster grants and oyster culture, in spite of its many failings, has shown what can be done to preserve and increase a natural shellfish industry if the proper methods are used. Planted beds have furnished enough spawn to maintain the natural beds, which would have long ago been depleted through the inroads of overfishing. They have preserved a fishery which would have disappeared almost completely, and established a better and more extensive industry, not only benefiting the oystermen, but also those indirectly associated with the business, such as teamsters, transportation companies, etc.
In the following report various abuses of the present system of oyster culture will be enumerated, and it is only necessary to state that many evils must be eliminated before the oyster industry can obtain its maximum expansion. Such evils as town politics, disputes with quahaugers, etc., will have to be remedied. The greatest obstacle which now checks the oyster industry is the lack of protection. Until complete protection is given to the oysterman, the industry will never attain to its full development. The removal of the abuses by the organization of the oyster industry of the State under a unified system is the best way to secure proper regulation and improvement of the oyster industry.