 Quahogs
are the most abundant shellfish found in Block Island
waters - specifically, all the margins of the Great
Salt Pond. The range of the Northern Quahog extends
throughout the entire east coast from the Gulf of
St. Lawrence in Canada to Florida. Within this range,
Quahogs are most abundant between Virginia and Massachusetts
with Rhode Island positioned in the heart of "Quahog
Country".
Quahogs live buried in the top three inches of sandy/stony/clayey bottoms beneath waters reaching up to 45-50 feet in depth.
Quahogs are found in sub-tidal areas of bays and
estuaries where the salinity is less than ocean
water due to the mixing of fresh water from coastal
wetlands.
Nomenclature
When it comes to the quahog, there is a lot to be said about its name. First, on Block Island it's pronounced kwa.hog. In New England, Northern Quahog,
Quahog or Quahaug, Hard Clam, Hard-shell Clam and
Round Clam are all names for the same critter. The
scientific name, Mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
refers to money, and is derived from the Native
American use of the shell for currency known as
wampum. Further, Quahog is derived from Poquauhock,
the Narragansett Indian word for this clam. (The
word Poquauhock continues in local use as the name
given to the Block Island Shellfish Commission's
workboat.)
In addition, Littlenecks, Cherrystones (a.k.a. topnecks, topcherries), and Chowders are all names for Quahogs of varying sizes.
| Quahogs: |
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are a mottled whitish/bluish-grayish
color on the outside, with rich purple markings
on the inside of the shell. Wampum beads were
fashioned from both white and purple shell
pieces. |
|
are bivalves, i.e. they have 2 shells (valves)
that are hinged together. |
|
are filter feeders - gleaning food from
water that passes over their gills. |
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are sedentary - they do not change locations
once the juvenile clam settles on the bottom. |
|
have a strong muscular "foot" that they
use to bury themselves in the sand or mud. |
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grow to legal harvestable size in 2-4 years,
depending on available nutrients in the water. |
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can live to 20 or more years, and grow to
a maximum size of 6 inches in length. |
In 1987, Mercenaria mercenaria was adopted
as Rhode Island's State Shellfish. The Northern
Quahog has been harvested for use since pre-colonial
times, and is an important component of Rhode Island's
fisheries industry. Rhode Island shell fishermen
supply 25% of the nation's commercial Quahog catch.
On Block Island, there are few commercial shell
fishermen left, but there is lots of clamming done
by residents and visitors for personal consumption.
 |
The legal size for taking Quahogs is 1 inch
thick: measured as hinge width. |
|
For the last 12 years, the Block Island
Shellfish Commission has augmented the native
stock with 50,000 to 100,000 seed clams (15
-20mm) per year. In addition, during 2003
and 2004, 5,000 -10,000 lbs. of cherrystones
were added to the shellfish areas open in
the summer. |
|
In 2004, 1738 shellfish licenses were sold
in 5 categories (Golden, Resident, Seasonal,
Monthly, Weekly) |
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Only part of the Great Salt Pond is open to shellfishing in the summer months. This is due in part to protect against potential contamination where there are large numbers of moored boats or where there is low flushing circulation - especially in the southern, shallow parts of the harbor. Closing some shellfish areas on an alternating basis is also used as a management tool to guard against over fishing. |
For more fun, cultural, and scientific
information on Quahogs, search the web or see The
Northern Quahog: The Biology of Mercenaria mercenaria
by Michael A. Rice, 1992. |
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