150 



Belding, David L. 1909. 



A report upon the mollusk fisheries of Massachusetts. Boston, Wright & 

 Potter Printing Co., 243 p. 



Declines in the quahaug industry were noted in Chatham, Buzzards Bay, and 

 the Fall River district, among others. Causes were increased demand, over- 

 fishing, and water pollution. Other factors, such as climatic change, may 

 have played a part. Shellf isheries in Mass. are in a chaotic state, legally 

 and economically. Existing laws do more harm than good, and are direct 

 obstacles to improvement. Protection of the resource is a paramount 

 problem. All shellfish laws should be revised. Numerous examples of 

 inequity and irrationality are given. Two matters were stressed for 

 immediate attention: 1) shipping out of Massachusetts many thousands of 

 bushels of quahaugs to New York, where they were planted (under 1 1/2-in 

 legal size) and harvested a year later at yields of at least 5 bu for each 

 bu planted; and 2) lack of enforcement of the 1 1/2-inch quahaug law. All 

 the problems of the clam industry are summed up as "abuse of nature". 

 Conclusions and recommendations of this study were: the shellf isheries have 

 declined, causes were overfishing and unwise laws, the remedy is not to 

 check demand (as has been attempted) but to increase production by utilizing 

 vast barren flats, that present chaotic laws make this impossible, that there 

 is need of reform or shellf isheries will disappear, and that the first step 

 is to remove these laws to permit application of proper cultural methods. 

 The section on the quahaug industry (p. 36-80) contains a detailed dis- 

 cussion, by areas, of the history and present status of the industry in Mass. 

 It was concluded that quahaug farming- is practical and possible. Rates of 

 growth vary widely depending on water currents. Fastest growth recorded was 

 from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches in a year and average growth between 1/2 and 3/4 

 inch per year, a yield of 3-5 bu/yr for each bu planted. (Abstracter's note: 

 this report was obtained from the Univ. of Mass. Library. It is well worth 

 reading because the problems more than 65 years ago were so similar to those 

 of today. We have not progressed very much.) - J.L.M. 



151 



Belding, David L. 1911. 



The life history and growth of the quahaug (Venus meraenaria) . Comm. Fish 

 Game, Mass., Ann. Rept. 1910: 18-128. 



Interlibrary loan supplied the following on request for the title given 

 above: A report upon the quahaug and oyster fisheries of Massachusetts, 

 including the life history, growth and cultivation of the quahaug (Venus 

 meraenaria) , and observations on the set of oyster spat in Wellfleet Bay. 

 Commonwealth of Mass., Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, Boston, 

 1912, 134 p. + 69 plates. Pages 2 to 41 inclusive contain a paper entitled: 

 The life history and growth of the quahaug (Venus meraenaria) . If the other 

 paper exists it must be essentially the same, because the work reported here 

 was conducted from 1906 to 1909. It is described as a final report on the 

 best methods of increasing the natural supply, as determined by a study of 

 the life history, habits, and artificial propagation of this mollusk, 

 following a preliminary report published in the report on the mollusk 

 fisheries for 1909. The section on quahaug culture follows the life history 

 report (pages 41 to 112 inclusive). These reports include great detail, 

 which can be digested only by reading the entire document. - J.L.M. 



152 



Belding, David L. 1912. 



A report upon the quahaug and oyster fisheries of Massachusetts, including 

 the life history, growth and cultivation of the quahaug (Venus meraenaria) , 

 and observations on the set of the oyster spat in Wellfleet Bay. Boston, 

 Wright & Potter Printing Co., 134 p., 69 figs. Reissued in 1964 as Mass. 

 Div. Mar. Fish., Contr. 12, 134 p. 



The aim of this paper was to complete the 1909 investigation by a final 

 report on best methods to increase the natural supply of quahaug, as de- 

 termined by a study of life history, habits, and artificial propagation. 



43 



