The Bouchard Barge 120 dumped 98,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay, and now towns along the South Coast are receiving thousands of bushels of quahogs to help replenish the waters affected by the 2003 spill.

This summer, Marion and Mattapoisett will each get 800 bushels of quahogs from the Taunton River.

The oil spill, which resulted after the barge struck rocks south of Westport, affected 90 miles of shoreline, according to the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

As part of the settlement for the disaster, towns will receive quahogs for four years. Last year, Mattapoisett received its first delivery, which was distributed in Hiller Cove by Shellfish Officer Kathy Massey and her crew.

Marion’s first delivery is this summer.

Marion Harbormaster Isaac Perry has been working to secure resources since 2006 and has spent the past six years meeting with the Bouchard Transportation Co., Trustee Council, the group in charge of the settlement from the spill.

Gregory Sawyer of the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries said the quahogs are from an area with “mild contamination” and have been exposed to fecal matter, the cause of 99 percent of closures to shellfishing areas in the state.

Due to the state of the quahogs, the areas where they are distributed will be closed for a year while the shellfish clear their systems of contaminates.

Sawyer said Hiller Cove should reopen at the beginning of September, and this year Mattapoisett will distribute its second batch of quahogs in Brandt Island Cove, north of Leisure Shores Marina.

Marion’s quahogs will be placed in Planting Island Cove over the next four years, though Perry said at least some part of the area will always be open for recreational quahogging.

Perry anticipates that the first batch of Taunton River quahogs should be harvestable next August.

“They’ll have to be tested to make sure they’re OK, but they should be ready by next summer,” he said.

His department has participated in a quahog relay like this before, but Perry said it was at the expense of the department.

While some may question the addition of contaminated quahogs, the shellfish naturally filter water, said Massey.

Plus, they’re a boost to the local supply.

“It’s helping us replenish our stock.”