For more seafood and saltwater fish information, visit Fresh Seafood, Commercial Fishing and Chesapeake Bay.
Surf clams and ocean quahogs are harvested from waters of the Atlantic Ocean from New England down to Hampton Roads Virginia. These two species of clams sometimes are sometimes harvested together. Both types of clams are landed live, rushed to facilities, shucked, cooked and then processed into a variety of food items.
The ocean quahog is also known as mahogany clam, mahogany quahog, black quahog and black clam. These shellfish are very slow growing, maturing in 20-40 years. Some specimens live as long as 200 years. Adults are 3-6 inches in diameter.
The meat of this clam is firm and pinkish with a somewhat stronger taste than inshore clams. Quahogs are generally minced, chopped or cut into strips before they are suitable for the table. They are used in recipes such as chowders, linguine and other dishes.
Atlantic surf clams are caught off the coasts of New England, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. They are also known as skimmer, hen, sea, giant or bar clams. Surf clams range from 4 to 8 inches in length.
Surf clams are processed into breaded fried strips, chopped and canned or for their clam juice. The meat is sweet and delicately flavored. Like quahogs, they are often used in chowders and other dishes. In addition to being a popular seafood product, surf clams are also prized as fishing bait.
The American offshore surf clam/ocean quahog industry is dominated by large boats towing special dredges to harvest the catch. These huge dredges are equipped with pressurized water jets to blast away the sand, exposing the clams which then enter the slow moving dredge. Modern clam boats are often 90' or more and remain at sea for several days.
The Mid-Atlantic surf clam and ocean quahog fishery operates under an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system. Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs are a type of limited access privilege program (LAPP), which provide individual fishermen or corporations the exclusive privilege to harvest a certain percentage of the total allowable catch (TAC) of a fishery. IFQ programs allow individual licenses or "shares" to be bought and sold in the marketplace.
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