About the Quahog

Quahogs are found in estuaries along the Atlantic Coast, from Canada to Texas. However, only the Northern Quahog, which whose original habitat was primarily between New Jersey and Maine, has purple in its shell -- and purple is what makes the most-desirable wampum. The purple is due partly to genetics, and partly to habitat. Quahogs bury themselves in sand or mud and feed on plankton which they get by siphoning water through their system. Quahogs that escape natural predators (and the chowder pot) can live 60 years or more.

In the seafood business, small quahogs are known as "littlenecks;" larger ones are called "cherrystones;" and quahogs over four inches wide are called "chowders." Only large chowder quahogs have shells thick enough for making wampum.

All sizes, however make delicious chowder. When Sandy was growing up along the Rhode Island shoreline, her whole family would go out and dig for quahogs, which provided free meals in tough economic times. (Quahogs, incidentally, helped save the Pilgrims from starvation.) Sandy's mom created a lot of different ways to cook quahogs, including a prize-winning chowder. Sandy's brother Stuart, who owns and operates Duffy's Tavern in Wickford, Rhode Island, continues the family tradition with innovative dishes such as Quahog Chili.

Curt packs some renegade quahog shells back into their onion sack, which is the standard commercial shipping container for quahogs. Commercially, quahog shells are in demand because they are used to make"stuffies," a mixture of bread crumbs, quahog meat, and spices packed into the shells and baked.

Fishing for quahogs can be hard work because you have to dig them out of the sand or mud. Recreational quahogers wade out from shore at low tide, and standing in waist-deep water, use a long-toothed rake to dig them out. With practice, you can get quite good at sensing the difference between stones and quahogs. When the bottom is soft, you can tread the mud with your bare feet until your feel a quahog; then you reach down under water, or dive down, and bring it up. Commercial quahogers typically use large skiffs and rakes with handles up to 50 feet long, as shown below.

Photos of the fishermen were made by Bruce W. Eastman, and provided through the courtesy of Bruce himself and the Rhode Island Shellfisherman's Association.