Quahogs
 

Is anyone aware that the state of R I has changed the amount of Quahogs a resident can take ? For many years a resident could take a bushel of clams, well now you can only take a peck! That my friends is a 75% reduction! Is there a shortage? Why did this happen? Who actually owns these resources DEM or the citizens of R I another theft by the government.

Clammer would know about this.

Its been a peck for years ,

&&&&&& yes they are in trouble

I doubt if there are 60 full time diggers currently

when I went full time there were about 15 dealers , 5 buy boats

and over 1000 diggers .

I,m putting orders in for my friends , thru one of the best diggers of all time .. cuz physically I can,t get out & if I was out , just a regular order would probably be tuff for me to get .
many of my orders where chowders / most diggers even back then didn,t want to dig & carry them .. there were diggers that would dig them an then swing by my boat an we would just swap bags .. catch beat what I do dig .. especially the bigs .........the divers are the ones that wiped out most of the places i dug ><>< Id still do it again // no time clock , love it , still do . I,m hoping for a physical mircale [sp] for me .. the clams .. history in the next 10-15 years :hs::hs:

Soft shell Clams Or quahogs

I saw over a 100 guys bull raking off on the barrington side off nayatt point light house


And more off Cleveland ledge .. didn’t look like a shortage of quahogs to me ? But I am not a digger

And in the Taunton River there’s a guy dredging 5 days a week for quahogs since April and they have been doing it for years .. they get sent to the cape for recreational diggers supposedly

Found this. Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Town of Westport invites sealed bids from qualified vendors for specific work to dredge 5,000 bushels of contaminated quahogs from the Taunton River.

https://www.bidnetdirect.com/public/...69091/abstract

The river is the cleanest it’s been in decades I would love to see some recent test samples

Quahogs
 

Clammer when did the R I resident amount change? The out of state had to be in the last couple of years, I found out by accident when I looked at the Regs, my bad

Transfer stock. The Cape towns buy them to augment the local stock. They're put in upwellers to purge the toxins from the Taunton River mud. They're usually planted in beds that are closed during summer. I have a friend who worked on Bourne's shellfish propagation program for many years. IIRC he said that the state has to certify the water before the beds can be reopened in the fall.

The way they plant the 'hawgs is funny. They're piled on culling boards from the baskets and just dumped overboard. So if you know where the boat dumped them, or find it by accident, you've hit the mother lode. :jump:

Seriously, I have filled a peck limit in less than 10 minutes when those beds first opened. 5 or 6 pulls of the rake, and done. It was like fishing in a hatchery.

Clambo
I really don,t know ..because I have a commercial license ,it would only effect my quota in management areas , an with that its either closed or a max of 3 bushels .
I realize a peck isn,t much when ya digging bigs & top Nks .. going back to the issue .. they are starving .. the water is clean forpeople but to clean for shellfish & many other marine life . there have been a bunch of meeting with the state an elected officals . they had a requested to let the water get a little dirty in the winter , but it was shut down . I had Joe Fig with me a couple of years ago & he wanted some chowders . we were getting a few & I said lets go I know were we can get all ya need .I was shocked . I moved about 8 / 9 times an we 1 neck one top an a snail ...what we did have were double shells going up . which tells ya they did right were they a
were .except for a few very small area,s .. the further south you go the less there is . It will never get better because the bay will not be getting the foods that are needed. Just last night I saw a posting . a digger was selling his license & all equipment .. I should have sold mine when I could .now I,m gonna take I big hit on the boat & the license will depend on the fin fishery .some guys scored thelast two years with tuna guys needing the license to sell yellow fin & a mix ie Maui Maui ><>,...........I havn,t seen a wild oyster in the bay in over 20 years ><><>

very sad post Mike but I know you don't lie.