Baysgiving brings bountiful quahog harvest
A pro at shellfishing, Elizabeth Winship said she likes to make "quahog stuffies." Photos by Brandy Muz
Getting in on the action and showing how you can shellfish from the shore is Harbormaster Garry Buckminster.
Shell yeah! Carly Baumann holds up a quahog she caught.
Two event-goers help each other out in the water.
The Onset Bay Center's social media team gets the sunset in the photos.
A rainbow drops in for the last few minutes of sunlight.
Some people like Aaliyah Viria caught more than quahogs.
The boat was filled with participants. 
Abby Forcier shows the crowd how its done.
The quahog wouldn't be in regulation standards if it could fit through the hole in the sizing tool.
From guest to shellfisher.
Yvonne Crehan shows off her catch.
Julie McKay digs deep.
The buckets await fresh quahogs.
Stuart Downie demonstrates proper technique.
A pro at shellfishing, Elizabeth Winship said she likes to make "quahog stuffies." Photos by Brandy Muz
Getting in on the action and showing how you can shellfish from the shore is Harbormaster Garry Buckminster.
Shell yeah! Carly Baumann holds up a quahog she caught.
Two event-goers help each other out in the water.
The Onset Bay Center's social media team gets the sunset in the photos.
A rainbow drops in for the last few minutes of sunlight.
Some people like Aaliyah Viria caught more than quahogs.
The boat was filled with participants.
Abby Forcier shows the crowd how its done.
The quahog wouldn't be in regulation standards if it could fit through the hole in the sizing tool.
From guest to shellfisher.
Yvonne Crehan shows off her catch.
Julie McKay digs deep.
The buckets await fresh quahogs.
Stuart Downie demonstrates proper technique.
Sloshing around in Onset Bay raking shallow waters for the perfect shellfish is as East Coast as some dream of— and the Onset Bay Center made it possible.
Over a dozen community members waded into the chilly November waters at Burgess Point for the Onset Bay Center's third Baysgiving Thursday, Nov. 20. The event turned guests into shellfishers, catching quahogs to cook for a feast.
Guests used rakes in the sand, dragging their tools to catch the quahogs and collect them in a special shellfishing basket. Each basket is equipped with a tool to make sure the shelled-creatures are within regulated size.
Joined by Wareham Harbormaster, Garry Buckminster, who educated the group on proper technique and regulations, he said the importance of teaching shellfishing goes back centuries.
"When the Wampanoag Indians were on the land it was a primary source of food," he said. "Going through the years of shellfishing, Wareham turned into a big area where they had a ton of shellfishing grants and people shellfished just for food. Then it turned recreational."
Buckminster said that catching quahogs has been in his family for generations and that the activity is a distraction for many who hold licenses. According to Buckminster, Wareham sells over 1,400 licenses a year.
"It's a good activity and a family memory," he said. "It contributes to the towns history and its important."
As the sun rested on the horizon and casted Onset in an orange glow, many raked in countless quahogs. Guests like Elizabeth Winship from Swifts Beach donned waders and managed to bring back dozens of shellfish.
If there were a prize for most quahogs collected, Winship would have taken first place. In her second year participating she said she broke a personal record Thursday with over 40 catches.
"It's good weather, salt water's good for you and it's also sort of great alone time," she said. "You're with a group but you're not really with people."
The catches from the group filled up four buckets fast with a rainbow making an appearance toward the end of the fishing. The harvest was taken back to shore and cooked immediately afterward to be served to the Wareham Council on Aging.
"It's for a good cause," Winship said. "First and foremost I love to quahog, but secondly it's all toward a good cause."
Head Counselor of the Onset Bay Center, Carly Baumann, said that the whole thing was a "beautiful experience." Baumann was out wading in the water alongside the group helping to catch quahogs.
"There's nothing more elemental and natural than finding a fish you're about to eat," she said. "I love the wraparound of everything. We're shellfishing and then it's going right back to the community. It's all full circle."
