PHOTOGRAPHY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): COURTESY OF URI
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY/RHODE ISLAND SEA
GRANT; JULIA HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY; JAMIE COELHO.
Quahogger Jeff Grant (left) there’s a good real estate boom, some
pulls in some quahogs from
of the workforce will shift into the construction
trade, and as things get worse,
his bullrake. Below right,
when not on his fishing boat,
twenty-seven-year veteran they shift back into quahogging.”
quahogger Jody King
It’s not as easy as it used to be to break
conducts Rhode Island
into the industry, however. The system for
DEM’s Come Clam With Me
Workshops, which teach allocating quahog licenses was restructured
in 2004. Before then, hundreds
participants how to find,
harvest and cook shellfish. of shellfish licenses were issued annually
to people who seldom dug many
clams, making it difficult for the state to regulate the fishery. To
reduce those numbers, just one new license was issued for every
three fishermen who exited the fishery. Now that license numbers
are down to a more manageable number, a new license is issued for
every one not renewed.
But just thirty to forty new licenses are typically available each
year out of a pool of more than 100 Rhode Islanders who want a
license. Permits are awarded through a weighted lottery system,
and those with fishing experience have the best chance of winning.
In addition, thirty-seven student licenses were issued in 2019
to encourage younger people to enter the fishery, and 372 senior
licenses were issued to those older than sixty-five. It’s also possible
to acquire a commercial license by buying an existing quahogger’s
business, but that can be a costly undertaking.
The greatest concern facing the quahog industry is its aging
workforce. The average age of the state’s quahoggers is about fiftyfive
and getting older, and the physical demands of the job mean
that many workers are likely to retire soon. Yet it is very difficult
to attract younger people to the fishery. Most fishermen claim the
younger generation doesn’t want to work as hard as necessary to
succeed as a quahogger.
“They’ve got a lack of drive. A strong work ethic hasn’t been
passed on to them,” says Jeff Grant, one of the younger quahoggers
in the industry at age thirty-five. “They seem to have the attitude of
‘why would I want to work that hard when I could do something
easier and get paid just as much?’ ”
To recruit younger workers, the industry was awarded a grant
to launch a paid internship program enabling those interested in
becoming a quahogger to work alongside a licensed shellfisherman
to learn the ropes and gain experience. Those who complete the
internship have an advantage in being awarded a commercial license
through the lottery system. Of the twenty internships available in
the last two years, nineteen have been filled, and eight of those who
completed the program have been awarded commercial licenses.
“Ours is a young man’s game, so we’re working to bring young
people in,” says Mike McGiveney, the long-time president of the
Rhode Island Shellfisherman’s Association. “It’s a challenge to do,
though, because there are a lot of other jobs out there.”
For his part, Grant says there are plenty of positive reasons to be
a quahogger, including the opportunity to be on the water every
day, to be your own boss, to make your own schedule, and to be
home by noon most days to spend time with your family. “You’re
never going to get rich doing it, you’re not going to retire early, but
it definitely has its advantages,” he says.
Grant is concerned, however, about the aging workforce and
how their retirement will affect the rest of | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 108
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2020 55