OF MASSACHUSETTS. 33 



matters pertaining to the shellfisheries, whether it be regulations or the 

 restocking of barren areas. A board of arbitration, a committee of 

 appeal for any grievance under the town control, and a commission 

 that would act for the interests of the whole State, are what is most 

 desirable at the present time. Such an arrangement would not be 

 changing radically the present system of town control, but it would 

 free it from its existing evils, place it on a firm and just basis, and give 

 the shellfisheries a chance for improvement. 



THE FISHERMAN AND LAWS. 



The fisherman of to-day, though nominally his own master, is in 

 reality subject to the demands of the market. To gain a living he is 

 forced to work in all kinds of weather, at cold, disagreeable work. 

 Under the present system he is oppressed by useless special town laws, 

 which merely increase his daily labors without benefiting the fishery in 

 the least. A few good laws only are necessary for the shellfisheries. It 

 is time that the fisherman, one of the great factors in the commercial 

 supremacy of Massachusetts, should be freed from all unnecessary 

 burdens through a new system of satisfactory laws. 



THE REMEDY. 



In spite of all the existing evils of the town shellfisheries, the outlook 

 is far from hopeless. To-day the shellfisheries of Massachusetts, owing 

 to great natural resources, are as good or better than those of any 

 other coast States, and only await development under proper methods 

 to ensure a bright future. The Commissioners on Fisheries and Game 

 can only point the way of reform; the result lies in the hands of the 

 intelligent voters of this Commonwealth, whose action decides the 

 future success or failure of the shellfisheries. It should be the object 

 of every thinking voter, whether he be fisherman or consumer, to see 

 that the right action be taken in regard to the shellfisheries. 



As shown in the preceding pages of this report, the attempted remedy 

 has been based upon the false economic basis of attempting to check 

 the demand by prohibiting digging for certain periods (closed seasons), 

 limiting the amount to be legally dug by any one person, etc. It would 

 be quite as logical for a town or city to prohibit by by-laws the use or 

 digging of potatoes or any other food crop, when the supply was short, 

 rather than to attempt to increase the supply. An increasing demand 

 cannot be checked by any such ill-advised measures, but can be met only 

 by a corresponding increase in the natural production. The only rem- 

 edy that can be applied successfully is shellfish culture, which means 

 the utilizing of thousands of acres of barren shore area for the planting 

 of farms which will furnish harvests of shellfish. In this way the 

 latent potentialities of nature, which it is criminal to neglect, will be 

 utilized for the good of the entire population of the State. 



