. Ecology of Buzzards Bay : an estuarine profile. Estuarine ecology -- Massachusetts Buzzards Bay (Bay); Ecology -- Massachusetts Buzzards Bay Watershed. 46 BIOLOGICAL REPORT 31 and oysters are the dominant shellfish species in the bay, followed to a lesser extent by the edible blue mussel, which although easily gathered and delicious has not reached the popularity it has in Europe. The most widespread shellfishery in Buzzards Bay is the hard-shelled clam or quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria (Fig. ). Cape Cod is as the north- ern boundary to large-scale distribution of the spe- cies (Belding 19
. Ecology of Buzzards Bay : an estuarine profile. Estuarine ecology -- Massachusetts Buzzards Bay (Bay); Ecology -- Massachusetts Buzzards Bay Watershed. 46 BIOLOGICAL REPORT 31 and oysters are the dominant shellfish species in the bay, followed to a lesser extent by the edible blue mussel, which although easily gathered and delicious has not reached the popularity it has in Europe. The most widespread shellfishery in Buzzards Bay is the hard-shelled clam or quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria (Fig. ). Cape Cod is as the north- ern boundary to large-scale distribution of the spe- cies (Belding 1916), which is a warm water mol- lusk. Quahogs grow in shallow and deep water; how ever, they were primarily harvested in shallower waters until the advent in 1982 of a deep water dredge fishery in the bay. Mercenaria populate sandy to muddy sand bottoms generally in areas where salinity is above 15 ppt and can be found virtually along the perimeter of the bay. They bur- row into the sediments and extend their siphons into the water column to feed. These clams are quite tolerant to short-period stresses such as bottom wa- ter anoxia; they can also survive during harvest when they are out of water for long periods by "clamming ; remaining with their shells closed until condi- tions improve. Larger individuals are extremely hardy and can survive days of anoxia or emerge from deep burial (tens of centimeters) caused by shifting sands or overwash during storms. Although these clams grow quickly and achieve marketable size in 3-4 years, they may live up to 25 Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Howes, Brian Louis; University of Massachusetts (System). Center for Marine Science and Technology; United States. National Biological Service; Goehringer, Dale D. Washington, D. C. : U. S.
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