For most people, digging quahogs evokes pleasant images of barefoot summer days and sparkling water.
The hardy souls harvesting the bivalves for a living have a different view, especially those like New Bedford’s Kenny Breton and Norberto Cristobal, who are licensed shellfish divers.
Breton, who started diving commercially this summer, is learning the ropes from Cristobal, a wily veteran and probably the only man in the city who dives the local waters year-round. Breton has already discovered that it’s no day at the beach.