88 



BIOLOGICAL REPORT 31 



shallow nearshore embayments. The impact of the 

 shellfishery (and recreational finfishery) on the ma- 

 rine economy is much greater than value of the an- 

 nual catch because both support secondary indus- 

 tries and tourism. 



.... 



Fig. 5.3. Spray irrigation on cranberry bogs, the 

 primary method for application of fertilizer and 

 pesticides, although flooding is also used for pest 

 control. Photo by B. Howes. 



As commercial finfishing is prohibited within 

 Buzzards Bay waters, the marine economy most 

 impacted by poor water quality conditions is the 

 shellfishing industry. Unfortunately, only limited long- 

 term information is available on local catches, and 

 much of these data are of marginal quality for our 

 purposes. The lack of information restricts our ability 

 to look at long-term trends in economic losses 

 caused by pollution or overfishing. Closures of shell- 

 fish beds because of coliform contamination, how- 

 ever, provide a general idea of the increased im- 

 pact of anthropogenic activities within the water- 

 shed (cf. Chapter 6). 



Although commercial marine activities do con- 

 tribute some pollution to the bay, they also tend to 

 be the most affected by pollution. This is particu- 

 larly evident in the steady increase of shellfish bed 

 closures caused by fecal coliform contamination, 

 originating from road runoff, damaged septic sys- 

 tems, and wildfowl and other animal wastes. The 

 average of 1 ,764 ha closed to shellfishing in 1 970 

 has steadily increased, reaching an average of 4,452- 

 4,856 ha in 1988 and nearly 6,070 ha in 1990. 

 Although only a moderate portion of the overall 

 shellfishery (primarily through recreational harvest), 

 soft-shelled clams are particularly affected by bed 

 closures since they are concentrated in areas most 

 susceptible to bacterial contamination such as 



5.3. Fisheries 



Although early records offish catches in Buz- 

 zards Bay are quite limited, it is clear that fish rep- 

 resent one of the most important resources of the 

 bay. After the initial establishment of farming to en- 

 sure an adequate food supply, the early settlers 

 turned toward the bay to supplement their diets. 

 Salted and dried fish, primarily cod and mackerel, 

 kept well and are frequently referred to in the his- 

 toric literature, although many other species were 

 also caught in the bay for immediate consumption. 

 Schools of mackerel, bluefish, sea bass, butterfish, 

 scup, and menhaden historically provided a signifi- 

 cant catch in the deeper open bay waters (Belding 

 1916). In the late 1800's, the bay was also a source 

 of menhaden, alewives, tautog, squeteague (also 

 known as weakfish), and eels (Baird 1 873). The 

 extent to which Cape Cod's namesake, the cod- 

 fish, was plentiful in Buzzards Bay waters is un- 

 clear; however, it has historically been part of the 

 catch within the bay during late winter through early 

 spring before it moves offshore during the warm 

 summer months. The value of codfish to early set- 

 tlers is evidenced by the fact that in 1639 the Gen- 

 eral Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony or- 

 dered that these fish no longer be used as fertilizer. 

 Cod landings for coastal Massachusetts vary widely, 

 from a record high of 133,000tin 1880 to 16,000tin 

 1 965, and 18,000 tin 1972 (Clayton etal. 1978). 



Natural within-species variability compounds the 

 difficulties with identifying long-term changes in fish 

 populations within Buzzards Bay waters. For in- 

 stance, scup were abundant when the early settlers 

 arrived, notably from 1621 to 1642, but at some 

 point toward the end of the century they virtually 

 disappeared. They reappeared in abundance about 

 1794 and decreased again around 1864 but did 

 not disappear completely (Baird 1 873). Scup must 

 have been an important resource, especially in the 



