Mae, 6, of Bath digs for soft-shell clams on the sand flats of Reid State Park during KELT’s annual clam digging event on Tuesday. (Kathleen O’Brien / The Times Record)
GEORGETOWN – In an effort to drive interest in sustainable fisheries, a The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust invited locals onto the flats to get their hands dirty digging for clams.
The land trust held its eighth annual clam digging event in Reid State Park Tuesday.
“Putting on this event is both an opportunity for people to experience something new and serves as an opportunity for us to emphasize the importance of clean water for soft-shell clams because they’re filter feeders,” said Becky Kolak, the trust’s program director.
Georgetown Shellfish Warden Jon Hentz, who learned to dig for clams when he was 4 years old, taught the group of 50 how to find clams in the mud, how to dig for them so their shells don’t break and outlined the laws behind clam digging.
It’s legal to dig up to a peck of soft-shell clams at Reid State Park without a license, and participants were able to take home the clams they dug.
Hentz said he sees the event as an extension of the Sea Animal Life for Tomorrow’s Youth, or Officer SALTY, program, an education program he brings to local elementary schools to teach children the importance of environmental and marine resource protection.
Many of the attendees, including Carolyn Aberg of Bath, had never tried clam digging before and never realized how labor intensive it can be. Despite this, Aberg said she would dig for clams again.
The last time David Nichols of Bath dug for soft-shell clams was the day before his high school graduation. “I forgot how hard it is,” said Nichols. “The people who do this for a living earn every penny.”
While soft-shell clams are one of Maine’s most lucrative marine resources, the number of active commercial soft-shell clam harvesters dropped from just over 2,000 in 2015 to about 1,400 in 2018, according to a February 2019 report from the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
In 2018, harvesters brought in more than 7 million pounds of soft-shell clams valued at more than $12.8 million, according to the department. That’s been on the decline since 2015, when harvesters brought in 9.3 million pounds valued at $22.8 million.
While the number of soft-shell clam harvesters may be declining, Hentz and Kolak found a surprising number of baby clams, or seed clams, in a small patch of mud at Reid State Park.
“I’ve never seen so many baby clams in one area like this before,” said Hentz. “It’s great news for this area.”
Hentz said seeing so many baby clams is a sign of growth in the area and means the clams are not being overharvested. These baby clams are about the size of a fingernail now and will take three to four years to reach their full size, about two inches in length.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
