Harwich
The quahaug fishery of the town of Harwich is carried on in that part of Pleasant Bay which lies within the town limits. In the southern waters of the town, on the Sound side, scattering quahaugs are found in certain localities, but are not of any commercial importance. The most important of those localities are off Dean’s Creek and in Herring River, where quahaugs are dug for home consumption.
Harwich shares with Chatham and Orleans the quahaug fishery of Pleasant Bay, but has a more limited territory, as only a small portion of Pleasant Bay lies within the town limits. Practically all this territory, comprising 100 acres, is quahauging ground, though the commercial quahauging is prosecuted over an area of 10 acres only. Scattering quahaugs are found over an area of 100 acres.
As the waters of Pleasant Bay are sheltered, the fishing is all done from dories, with basket rakes having 20 to 25 foot poles. The depth of water over the quahaug beds is from 6 to 16 feet.
In regard to the quahaug fishery in Pleasant Bay, Mr. Warren J. Nickerson of East Harwich, who has been acquainted with the industry for many years, says:—
Pleasant Bay is and has been a very valuable quahaug ground. Some fifty years ago there were shipped in vessels to New Haven and other places 13,000 bushels in one year from its waters. Since then there has been more or less taken from these waters by fishermen from the towns of Orleans, Chatham and Harwich. During the last few years there have been 25 regular fishermen and perhaps 12 transient. Probably 8,000 bushels a year for the last five years would be a fair estimate of the catch. Thirty per cent of these were “little necks.”
Summary of Industry.
| Area of quahaug territory (acres), | 100 |
| Number of men, | 7 |
| Number of boats, | — |
| Value of boats, | — |
| Number of dories, | 7 |
| Value of dories, | $100 |
| Value of implements, | $100 |
Production.
| “Little necks”:— | |
| Bushels, | 700 |
| Value, | $1,750 |
| Quahaugs:— | |
| Bushels, | 800 |
| Value, | $800 |
| Total:— | |
| Bushels, | 1,500 |
| Value, | $2,550 |