In 2003, Buzzards Bay suffered the third worst oil spill in its history when the Bouchard Barge 120 leaked 98,000 gallons of fuel. However, the bay is now on the mend as thousands of quahogs will be used for restoration efforts.

The barge ran aground in Westport while its contents spread across 90 miles of shoreline, impacting shellfish beds, wildlife and recreational activities.

On Monday, Wareham Harbormaster officials received 116 bushels of quahogs (roughly 9,280 in total) harvested from the Taunton River earlier that morning. That first shipment was paid for with a $6 million settlement that will, in part, fund the purchase of quahogs over the next four years to be placed in Wareham waters.

Known as a quahog relay, the bushels are part of a state program that allows towns to buy quahogs from areas closed to commercial fishermen at a discount. Those areas are closed due to poor water quality.

Harbormaster Garry Buckminster said Wareham is expected to receive a total of 3,200 bushels of quahogs due to the settlement, which was awarded from the Bouchard Transportation Trustee Council.

“These will all go into recreational fishing areas,” said Buckminster. “There will be no commercial harvesting.”

The contaminated quahogs are dropped in the water and then the shellfish beds are closed for a while to allow the bivalves time to filter out impurities. The clams are “filter-feeders,” meaning that they siphon water across their gills and remove algae and other microscopic organisms before expelling the water.

From the Onset Boat Ramp, Buckminster and three other harbormaster employees left with the bushels loaded atop a small barge.

They set a course for Sunset Cove, near the Agawam River, and at Buckminster’s order unloaded the clams in the shallows.

Buckminster noted the area will be closed to shellfishing for approximately one year while the quahogs filter out contaminates.