OF MASSACHUSETTS. 123 



fishery in Monument River; while at Wellfleet the natural oyster bed 

 was completely exterminated by the year 1775. Overfishing has affected 

 the natural beds in several ways, all of which have worked toward the 

 general decline of the native oyster. 



(a) The first settlers took the large oysters from the natural beds, 

 which under normal conditions had all they could do to keep up the 

 supply. In this way the beds were deprived of the spawning oysters, 

 with the result that in spite of the closed seasons, which gave little if 

 any benefit, a gradual decline set in. 



(b) At the same time that the oysters were being taken from the 

 beds, the early oystermen through ignorance were making an economic 

 blunder by not returning the shells to the waters. The oyster shells 

 furnish naturally the best surfaces for the collection of " seed," as 

 spat will set only on clean surfaces. By taking the large oysters and 

 with them the shells and other debris from the bed, the natural oyster 

 bars were destroyed and less space given for the spat to catch. So 

 both the taking of the large oysters in excessive amounts and the de- 

 struction of the natural spat collectors, either for lime, as was done at 

 Wellfleet, or for other purposes, were sufficient in the early days to 

 cause the decline of the natural oyster beds. 



(c) In more recent times the destruction of the natural beds has 

 been hastened by the taking of the small oysters. This practice was due 

 to two reasons: (1) the supply of large oysters was exhausted; (2) 

 oyster culture became important, and the natural beds were raked clean 

 for " seed " which the oystermen obtained for planting on their grants. 

 Thus the oyster grant system has been the chief cause of the destruc- 

 tion of the natural beds in the last forty years. It was only when the 

 natural beds failed that grants were given, and so oyster culture can- 

 not be considered the primary cause of the destruction of the natural 

 beds, but only a later agency in their total extermination. The natural 

 beds in Buzzards Bay all bear testimony to these three means of over- 

 fishing, and in recent years particularly to the last. 



It has been a most fortunate thing for Massachusetts that the oyster 

 grant system was inaugurated as soon as the decline of the natural 

 fishery became manifest, else at the present time there would be no 

 oysters in the State, for it is recognized that the present natural beds 

 are perpetuated by the spawn which comes from the various oyster 

 grants. Foresight has indeed provided an excellent oyster industry, 

 which is rapidly improving. It is only necessary to apply similar 

 methods of culture to the other shellfish industries of the State to insure 

 their future also; otherwise the decline, which is following the same 

 steps as the destruction of the natural oyster beds, will lead to the com- 

 mercial extinction of these valuable fisheries. 



