
Crew members of the Ocean Rancher get ready to offload their catch of quahogs from the Taunton River to the Fairhaven Shellfish boat on 08/29/18. Eight hundred bushels were transplanted over a period of eight days at the Seaview Boat ramp beach as part of the B120 Shellfish Restoration administered by the Division of Massachusettes Marine Fisheries and paid for by the funds from the Bouchard Oil Spill of 2003. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.
The Fairhaven Department of Natural Resources, working with the Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries, seeded the waters off the Seaview Boat Ramp with quahogs taken from the Taunton River. The relay program takes quahogs from polluted waters and plants them in clean water where they will clean themselves out in a year or two, then the area will be open for harvesting.
This batch of 800 bushels was relayed over eight days, ending this week on Wednesday, and paid for with settlement funds from the Bouchard Oil Spill of 2003. It will be open to recreational diggers only, as the funds for commercial shellfish renewal have been used in other areas. Funds from the B120 Restoration Program seeded Jack’s Cove, near the marina last year. It was opened for harvesting this season.

(L-R): Todd Cox, Tom Allaire, and Steve Riley transplant approximately 100 bushels of quahogs on 08/29/18 in shallow waters just off the Seaview boat ramp. Eight hundred bushels were transplanted over a period of eight days as part of the B120 Shellfish Restoration administered by the Division of Massachusettes Marine Fisheries and paid for by the funds from the Bouchard Oil Spill of 2003. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.

Todd Cox dumps a bushel of quahogs down the center hatch on 08/29/2018 in shallow waters just off the Seaview boat ramp nin Fairhaven. Eight hundred bushels were transplanted over a period of eight days as part of the B120 Shellfish Restoration administered by the Division of Massachusettes Marine Fisheries and paid for by the funds from the Bouchard Oil Spill of 2003. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.

Quahogs from the Ocean Rancher, as tagged, get loaded onto the Fairhaven Shellfish boat on 08/29/18 to be transplanted in shallow waters just off the Seaview boat ramp. Eight hundred bushels were transplanted over a period of eight days as part of the B120 Shellfish Restoration administered by the Division of Massachusettes Marine Fisheries and paid for by the funds from the Bouchard Oil Spill of 2003. Photo by Glenn C. Silva.
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