Moving Heaven and [Fish, Whales, and Shells]: Official Interest in the Marine Resources of Massachusetts, 1620-1791

Since the English colonization of North America in 1620, the resources of New England’s coastal waters have supported the economic and cultural systems of what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This paper investigates the early history of state control of these offshore resources, drawing on colonial-era sources on fishing and whaling. It looks at the efforts of colonial authorities to oversee New England waters and describes the development over time of the colonies’ efforts to maintain the region’s fish, shellfish, and cetacean populations, both for the subsistence use of individual citizens as well as for export to Caribbean and European markets. It argues that the modes of oversight developed during the colonial era came to serve as the basis for fish, mollusk, and cetacean management efforts in future centuries, as well as for structuring current debates about how new uses of marine resources, such as capturing offshore winds for the generation of electricity, should be regulated by the state.