The production for 1879, as given by A. Howard Clark in "The Fisheries of Massachusetts," was 3,000 bushels, which is just one-fifth of the present production. The supply of quahaugs has decreased the last few years, though new territory is constantly being opened up, as the quahaugers go out further into the deeper water. The increased price, however, probably more than counterbalances the decline in production.
Summary of Industry.
| Area of quahaug territory (acres), | 3,000 |
| Number of men, | 115 |
| Number of boats, | 11 |
| Value of boats, | $2,600 |
| Number of skiffs, | 100 |
| Value of skiffs, | $1,500 |
| Value of implements, | $900 |
Production.
| "Little necks":— | |
| Bushels, | 1,000 |
| Value, | $2,500 |
| Quahaugs:— | |
| Bushels, | 14,000 |
| Value, | $14,000 |
| Total:— | |
| Bushels, | 15,000 |
| Value, | $16,500 |
Falmouth.
There is practically no quahaug industry in Falmouth. Hardly 100 bushels are dug annually, and those only for home consumption. A few quahaugs are perhaps shipped by the oystermen.
This town, with its numerous inlets, bays and brackish water ponds, offers perhaps as fine an opportunity for shellfish culture, especially for quahaugs, as exists in Massachusetts. There is no reason why the water of Waquoit Bay and the other brackish ponds should not produce a great supply of quahaugs, if properly worked.
Quahaugs are found mostly in scattering quantities over a large area in Waquoit Bay and in small quantities on the north and west side of Great Pond, comprising a total of nearly 400 acres. Not all this ground, which is the greater part mud, is capable of producing quahaugs, but many parts could produce good harvests. On the bay side of the town small patches of good quahaugs are found at North Falmouth, Squeteague Pond, West Falmouth harbor on the southeast side, and a few are found in Hadley harbor, Naushon. These, together with the small patches in Great Pond, comprise about 1 acre of good quahaug ground, and are mostly dug by summer people.
In the past twenty-five years there has been a great decline in the quahaug industry, especially in Waquoit Bay, which to-day barely produces 50 bushels. A. Howard Clark states, in 1879:[7]—