52 



taxes. For that reason the town officials have never compelled 

 the cranberry bog owners to construct fishways or open sluice- 

 ways, assuming, in view of the large taxable property, that 

 their goodwill and influence would be more profitable than any 

 direct value resulting from the fishery. 



In its effect upon the shore fisheries the alewife is more im- 

 portant than its mere revenue to the town, and such a policy is 

 extremely nearsighted, particularly since the fishery could have 

 been preserved without injury to the cranberry interests if the 

 town had not been negligent in its duty. Barnstable is not the 

 only truant in this respect. Many other towns equally culpable 

 should be sternly brought to realize the importance of the nat- 

 ural asset which they are foolishly wasting. 



The cranberry interests and the alewife fishery are not abso- 

 lutely incompatible. They can both exist without injury to 

 each other if proper safeguards are taken. Conscientious over- 

 sight on the part of town officials and the whole-hearted co-op- 

 eration of the cranberry bog owners are the only requirements. 

 This co-operation does not mean the mere purchasing and nom- 

 inal operation of the fishing right by the cranberry companies 

 to avoid interference, as in Fresh Pond Stream, Plymouth, but 

 the assumption of an active interest in the welfare of the fish- 

 ery. The fishery interests can be safeguarded if the cranberry 

 bog owners install suitable fishways or open the sluiceways at 

 the proper times. Judgment in the location of ditches, dams, 

 screens and other improvements, and co-operation in aiding the 

 alewives in reaching the spawning grounds, is justly expected 

 from cranberry producers. 



Pollution. 



Of the various problems confronting our fisheries the one 

 which most demands immediate attention is water pollution. 

 If allowed to increase, it means the serious depletion and even 

 ruin of a great part of our inland and coastal fisheries, and the 

 longer it remains unregulated the more difficult will become its 

 ultimate control. Already it has made such inroads in our 

 natural water resources that it is questionable whether many 

 heavily polluted streams can ever be restored. 



Sources. — -Two kinds of pollution affect fi>h life, sewage and 



