90 



BIOLOGICAL REPORT 31 



The cause for the apparent species changes is 

 unclear but may only reflect sampling differences 

 from various fishing methods (i.e., traps vs. lines) 

 and sampling locations as well as methods of 

 recordkeeping (Moss and Hoff 1 989). Trap fish- 

 ing, for instance, was common before 1 920 yet is 

 not used to any great extent today. Although most 

 of the species abundant in the pre- 1 920 data were 

 present after 1 960, there are some real differences 

 in dominance. Shad, abundant in earlier years, are 

 not abundant today (Davis 1 989). Historic records 

 disagree occasionally, as they do for instance with 

 scup. Scup are identified as being important (but 

 not dominant) before 1 920 (Moss and Hoff 1 989); 

 however, substantial catches of scup were also re- 

 ported in 1 888, appearing in such numbers "as to 

 bring down the price so that it hardly paid to ship 

 them to New York" (Nye 1 889: 1 60). Also, testi- 

 mony from Theodore Lyman, the Massachusetts 

 Commissioner of Inland Fisheries in 1872, stated 

 that •"no representative (of the 'white fishes' ) has 

 been more abundant on the south shore of Cape 

 Cod than the scup" (Lyman 1 872: 112). Lyman at- 

 tributed the decline in scup populations in these 

 waters, including Buzzards Bay, to want of food, 

 traps, and bluefish. He dismissed pollution as a cause, 

 referring to the large numbers offish and shellfish 

 living in proximity to industries (Baird 1 873 ). 



Anadromous fish utilize Buzzards Bay for an 

 important stage in their life cycle, the migration from 

 salt water to brackish or freshwater areas for the 

 purpose of spawning (see also Chapter 4). Sev- 

 eral species dominate the anadromous fish popula- 

 tions in Buzzards Bay: alewives, blueback herring, 

 white perch, rainbow trout {Oncorhynchus 

 mykiss), and rainbow smelt. Of these, alewives have 

 been historically dominant, most notably in the re- 

 gions of the Acushnet, Mattapoisett, and Wareham 

 rivers. Arriving earlier in the year than herring, ale- 

 wives were usually caught for local consumption, 

 with herring often exported (Wilcox 1 887). 



Blueback herring historically have been abun- 

 dant in the bay; they were so plentiful that the early 

 settlers would spread them on the land for fertilizer, 

 a practice they learned from the Native Americans. 



The Pilgrims would bury two or three herring in each 

 hill of com. a practice known as "spot fertilizing." 

 The success of com cultivation by the early settlers 

 was attributed to this practice, since no other source 

 of manure was available to them. Many of the fields 

 the Pilgrims worked had previously been cleared 

 and cultivated by the Native Americans and had 

 become depleted in nutrients. The herring were 

 abundant, and the practice continued even after 

 animals were imported from England, especially for 

 com, to preserve manure for other crops. As is true 

 for alewives, herring were so important for food 

 and fertilizer that laws were passed in the early 

 1 700's to prevent grist mills, saw mills, and other 

 water-powered industries from interfering with the 

 upstream migration of these fish (Fawsett 1 990). 



The productive shellfish resources of Buzzards 

 Bay have long represented a readily accessible and 

 abundant source of food and income for residents 

 living on or near the bay. The four primary shellfish- 

 eries are quahogs (or hard-shelled clams), scallops, 

 soft-shelled clams, and oysters, with a relatively 

 small fishery in surf clams and mussels (see also 

 Chapter 4). The catch from recreational fishing of 

 these species generally meets or exceeds that of 

 the commercial fishery in all cases except for qua- 

 hogs. Quahogs represent the largest commercial 

 shellfish industry for Buzzards Bay. with commer- 

 cial catch generally exceeding the catch of all other 

 species combined (Table 5.1). 



The hardiness of this bivalve with its rugged shell 

 and ability to close tightly when disturbed or faced 

 with low oxygen conditions results in a relatively 

 long lifetime for individuals of this species. Little- 

 necks and cherrystones are the smallest of the al- 

 lowable harvest, and they are favored for steaming, 

 as well as for eating whole and raw. Chowder clams 

 are generally chopped and used in chow ders or other 

 seafood dishes. Although catch statistics generally 

 do not break down into size classes, each class 

 maintains a somewhat distinct market (even though 

 most methods of harvest do not discriminate among 

 sizes). As the most important commercial shellfishing 

 industry in Buzzards Bay, the steadily increasing 

 harvests of this clam reflect their value to the 



