106 THE SCALLOP FISHERY 



among the other shore towns on the north side of the bay. In 1879 

 several boats from New Bedford commenced dredging in Wareham 

 waters, and the townspeople soon followed the example of the invaders. 

 From 1879 to 1899 the fishery became of importance as a winter industry 

 in the upper waters of the bay, and flourished until 1899, when it became 

 commercially extinct except at New Bedford and Fairhaven. The fall 

 of 1907 furnished a revival of the fishery, which has every indication 

 of becoming permanent. 



The industry first started on Cape Cod at Hyannis in 1874, where a 

 number of men entered the new business; and for several years the 

 production increased rapidly, with the opening of new territory and 

 improved methods of capture. The other towns on the south side of the 

 Cape entered in the new fishery at the same time and with similar 

 success. From that time on the fishery has been a variable factor in 

 the towns of this section, depending upon the supply. 



On the islands the fishery began at Edgartown in 1875 and at Nan- 

 tucket in 1883, and in both cases the supply has been fairly constant, a 

 poor or successful season depending more on the market price and the 

 abundance in the rest of the State than on the local supply. 



While the natural supply has remained the same or has evidenced a 

 decline in certain localities, the value of the industry as a whole, both 

 in regard to the number of men engaged, capital invested and the market 

 returns, has steadily increased. The price of scallops varies from year 

 to year and at different parts of the same season; but in spite of the 

 irregularity of the catch the price per gallon has increased threefold 

 (from 50 cents to $1.50) since 1880, showing the increasing importance 

 of the fishery. 



The Decline. 



The most important questions which first come to mind when consid- 

 ering the scallop industry of to-day are these: (1) Has there been any 

 decline in the industry? If so, how extensive? (2) What are the causes 

 of the decline? 



Extent of the Decline. There is no question but that the industry 

 as a whole has declined. This decline has made itself manifest, espe- 

 cially in certain localities, e.g., Buzzard's Bay, where until 1907 the 

 entire fisherj^, except at New Bedford and Fairhaven, had been extinct 

 for seven years. Along the south side of Cape Cod, at Edgartown and 

 Nantucket, the supply has, on the average, remained the same. Of 

 course there is varying abundance each year, but as a whole the industry 

 in these localities can hardly be said to have declined. On the other 

 hand, on the north side of Cape Cod we find a noticeable decline. A 

 scallop fishery no longer exists at Plymouth, Barnstable harbor, Wellfleet 

 and Provincetown, though twenty-five years ago these places possessed 

 a slight industry. 



So we have to-day in Massachusetts three localities, two of which show 



