(4) At the head of the harbor on both sides quahaugs are found over an area of 900 acres.
Maddequet harbor on the western end of the island has approximately 300 acres suitable for quahaugs, running from Broad Creek to Eel Point.
On the eastern end of Tuckernuck Island is a bed of quahaugs covering about 200 acres; while on the west side, between Muskeget and Tuckernuck, is a large area of 2,500 acres, which is more or less productive. The Tuckernuck fishery is largely "little necks," and it is from here that the shipment of small "seed" quahaugs has been made.
In the spring and fall men who have been boatmen during the summer work at quahauging. While 48 men work irregularly, about 18 men are engaged in the fishery during the entire summer, though probably never more than 30 are raking at any one time.
The production in 1906, from April I to November I, was 2,159 barrels, or 6,477 bushels; value, $7,557.
Production, 1907.[8]
| MONTHS. | QUAHAUGS. | "LITTLE NECKS." | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrels. | Average price per Barrel. | Bushels. | Value. | Barrels. | Average price per Barrel. | Bushels. | Value. | |
| April | 138 | $3.50 | 414 | $483 | -- | — | — | — |
| May | 257 | 4.00 | 771 | 1,028 | 4 | $14.00 | 12 | $56 |
| June | 460 | 4.00 | 1,380 | 1,840 | 13 | 14.00 | 39 | 182 |
| July | 355 | 3.00 | 1,065 | 1,060 | 33 | 14.00 | 90 | 462 |
| August | 312 | 3.50 | 936 | 1,092 | 20 | 15.00 | 60 | 300 |
| September | 302 | 3.42 | 906 | 1,032 | 22 | 10.00 | 66 | 220 |
| October | 123 | 4.00 | 369 | 492 | 9 | 10.00 | 27 | 90 |
| November | 50 | 3.00 | 150 | 150 | -- | — | — | — |
| Total | 1,997 | $3.60 | 5,991 | $7,177 | 101 | $12.97 | 303 | $1,310 |
| "Little necks" | 101 | 303 | 1,310 | |||||
| Grand total | 2,098 | 6,294 | $8,487 | |||||
The month of June shows the largest production, as the summer people do not arrive in any numbers until July. The men who do the summer boating are engaged in the quahaug fishery during this month, naturally increasing the production.
The principal method is raking from a boat or dory with a long-handled basket rake, very similar in form to the rake used on Cape Cod. The second method, applicable only in shallow water, employs the use of a claw rake with a much shorter handle. The quahauger uses this rake in the shallow water, where he can wade at low tide. The largest claw rakes are often wider than the basket rakes, and are much cheaper.
At Nantucket about 5 per cent. of the entire catch is "little necks," which are found mostly at Tuckernuck. The quahauger usually makes three culls of his catch: (1) "little necks"; (2) medium; (3) large. A few blunts are obtained. The quahaugs are shipped chiefly to New York and Boston markets, either directly by the quahaugers or through Nantucket firms.