Don't worry, those boats near the Braga sitting low in the water are not sinking

That's the message from Fall River's Harbormaster Bob Smith after he said he received a number of phone calls — many from motorists crossing the Braga Bridge — altering them to sinking boats.

No, those boats that you can see south of the Braga Bridge are not sinking.

That's the message from Fall River's Harbormaster Bob Smith after he said he received a number of phone calls — many from motorists crossing the Braga Bridge — altering them to sinking boats.

Smith said this is the second time in the past week that he's "received very early morning emergency calls from passersby on the Braga Bridge about a 'boat sinking.'"

"Emergency boats from F.R. Fire, Harbor Patrol, and the Harbormaster were all dispatched and coordinated with the USCG. In both instances it turned out to be the shellfish relay dredge boats digging up the river for quahogs," Smith wrote in a Facebook post.

Smith added that the boats "pump a huge amount of water overboard as they excavate the quahogs from the river floor sediment."

In the hopes of causing less alarm — or at least less of an emergency response — Smith said he has "asked the Division of Marine Fisheries to include Fall River authorities in the supervision of these vessels in our waters so that we have an idea when and where they will be dredging."

The request, however, doesn't seem to be helping.

"Every request for cooperation from MA Division Marine Fisheries has been denied," Smith added.