60 THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



Summary op Industry. 



Area of quahaug territory (acres), 1,800 



Number of men, • 70 



Number of boats, 42 



Value of boats, $10,500 



Number of dories, 18 



Value of dories, $450 



Value of implements, $1,050 



Production. 



" Little necks " : — 



Bushels, 8,000 



Value, $20,000 



Quahaugs: — 



Bushels, 12,000 



Value, $12,000 



Total : — 



Bushels, 20,000 



Value, $32,000 



Fairhaven. 



At Fairhaven the quahaug industry is of considerable importance, 

 and the output from this town alone is nearly half the entire production 

 of Buzzards Bay. 



Some 3,000 acres are more or less bedded with quahaugs. Of this, 

 probably not more than one-tenth is very productive. The best 

 quahauging is in Acushnet River, where digging for market has been 

 forbidden because of sewage pollution (see New Bedford), and in 

 Priests Cove as far as Sconticut Neck. In these grounds " little necks " 

 are numerous. The grounds around West Island and Long Island, once 

 very productive, are now largely dug out. Little Bay and the east 

 coast of Sconticut Neck are fairly productive, while the west coast 

 yields only a small amount. Most of the quahaugs now dug come 

 from the deep water west-southwest of Sconticut Neck. Here, with 

 rakes having handles from 40 to 60 feet long, the quahaugers dig 

 in water 7 fathoms or more in depth. The quahaugs, mostly large 

 sharps, are in bluish mud or sticky bottom, and are all large. A number 

 of blunts are found with these large sharps. In the Acushnet River, 

 owing to the enforced closed season, there are a large number of " little 

 necks." 



About 115 men are employed now in quahauging. Before the Acush- 

 net River was closed by law, over twice that number are reported to 

 have been engaged in the business. Six power boats and five cat boats, 

 besides a considerable number of skiffs and dories, are used in the 

 fishery. 



No permits are required for ordinary quahauging except in the pre- 



