This year’s upweller program in Fairhaven can be dubbed a success. The sand-grain sized quahogs acquired two years ago now range from the size of a quarter to a dollar coin. It will take another three years for the quahogs to get big enough to harvest.
Last year the quahogs wintered over in mesh bags in a sandy bottom in the outer harbor. Then they went back in the upweller at Hoppy’s Landing for the warmer months and were tossed into their forever home this month.
The process was a little different and kind of new, said Fairhaven Harbormaster Tim Cox. One of the towns on the Cape tried it, but it was a first for the biologists from the Department of Marine Fisheries that worked with Fairhaven.
Although there was some unexplained mortality, “They were not dissatisfied with the success we had,” said Mr. Cox.
In the end, we ended up with about 203,000 quahogs in Senior Cove.
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- Baby quahogs grown from seed the size of a grain of sand in Fairhaven’s upweller system at Hoppy’s Landing are now about the size of a quarter to a silver dollar and ready to be tossed into Senior Cove where they will, hopefully, grow large enough to be harvested in 2-3 years. Photo courtesy of Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries.
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- L-R: Fairhaven Shellfish Deputy Steve Botelho and Tom Shields, South Coast Shellfish program leader at the Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries toss baby quahogs into Senior Cove in Fairhaven where they will, hopefully, grow large enough to be harvested in 2-3 years. Photo courtesy of Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries.
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- L-R: Fairhaven Shellfish Deputies Steve Botelho and Steve Riley remove the upweller at Hoppy’s Landing in Fairhaven for the season, where more than 200,000 quahogs the size of a grain of sand grew large enough to be tossed into Senior Cove, where they will, hopefully, grow large enough to be harvested in 2-3 years. Photo courtesy of Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries.
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- More than 200,000 baby quahogs grown from seed the size of a grain of sand in Fairhaven’s upweller system at Hoppy’s Landing are now about the size of a quarter to a silver dollar and ready to be tossed into Senior Cove where they will, hopefully, grow large enough to be harvested in 2-3 years. Photo courtesy of Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries.
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