118 THE SCALLOP FISHERY 



of clams, quahaugs and scallops, and other shellfish to any inhabitant. 

 It seems strange that such an advanced and beneficial act should have 

 been passed at that early period, as it was clearly before its time, and 

 unsatisfactory, as is shown by its repeal the following year. It is only 

 within the last year that similar legislation has been passed for the 

 quahaug. Although it is improbable that the cultivation of scallops will 

 ever become extensive, it is only the question of a short time when the 

 cultivation of all shellfish will be legalized. 



The second mention of the word scallop is found in the act of 1880, 

 by which the Commonwealth gave to the towns and cities their present 

 oversight of the shellfisheries and full power "to control and regulate 

 the taking of eels, clams, quahaugs and scallops." This act was later 

 amended by the Acts of 1889, but the general terms of the act were 

 not changed, and the present law is but slightly different. Town con- 

 trol as applied to scallop fishery has its advantages and disadvantages, 

 and the wisdom of State control is a debatable question. The present 

 system is to the advantage of certain towns and a loss to the fishermen 

 of the other towns and to the general consumer, since town restrictions 

 prohibit the taking of shellfish by outsiders. Owing to the short life of 

 the scallop the adults left untaken, occasionally in large numbers at the 

 end of a season, perish before another year. More men could have 

 been given employment and a greater supply furnished the consumer 

 if the large beds had been opened to other fishermen besides townsmen. 

 As matters exist, the majority of fishermen seem satisfied with the 

 present system of town control, and until public opinion is favorable 

 to the best utilization of the scallop fishery, State control is not desirable. 



Special legislation for the scallop fishery was first enacted in 1885 

 by an act which limited the catch to 25 bushels a boat per day, the 

 first restrictive legislation upon the scallop fishery. Since that time, 

 within twenty-six years, eight State and seven special acts for towns, 

 in all fifteen laws, have been enacted, all but one of which have been for 

 the regulation of the fishery as regards permits, season, catch and town 

 supervision. The only exception was an act empowering the Commis- 

 sioners on Fisheries and Game to make an investigation of the spawn- 

 ing and propagation of the scallop. These laws illustrate the following- 

 features : 



Daily Limit to the Catch. The act of 1885 placed a limit of 25 

 bushels per day for each boat, making no allowance as to the size of 

 the boat. No record of the repeal of this act has been found, and it 

 remained practically an unknown law until 1910, when a limit of 10 

 bushels per day for each person was passed. 



The Season,. Previous to the act of 1885, which made a closed season 

 between April 15 and September 1, there had been no restriction upon 

 the time of capture. The primary object of this act was due to a desire 

 to protect the scallop during its breeding season, and because the winter 



