Clam digging
Encyclopedia
Clam digging is a common means of harvesting clams
from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live. It is done both recreation
ally (for enjoyment or as a source of food) and commercially
(as a source of income). Commercial digging is colloquially referred to as clamming, and is done by a clammer.
Amateur clam digging is often done using a straight long-handled spading fork or a spading shovel
.
Commercial clamming for the larger surf and quahog clams (soup clams) is primarily done offshore, via mechanical dredging. To harvest cultivated clam beds, aquaculturalists
often use a much smaller version (hand pulled) of the offshore dredge. Another form of commercial clamming is done from a flat decked boat using a clamrake with a telescopic handle. The head of these rakes have long tines attached to a "basket-like" cage in which the clams are collected.
In the Minas Basin
area of Nova Scotia
digging for soft-shelled clams
is usually done with a clam hack, a spading fork with its short handle bent perpendicularly away from the fork's head. A digger typically uses the hack by grasping the spine of the prongs in one hand and the handle of the fork in the other to push the hack down into the mud, clay, or sand and then pull it up and towards him/herself. This digging action opens up the soil to expose the clams. Those clams legally long enough (44 mm (1.7 in) in Nova Scotia) are then taken by hand and put into a peck
-size (9 litre) bucket used for measuring the volume of clams collected.
Clam digging on the New England coast is done using a "clam hoe" (a pitchfork with the handle cut off about 18 in (45.7 cm) from the tines then bent about 70 degrees) and a "roller" (a half bushel
basket built using wood lathes or wire mesh) and hip waders
(boot that extend up to the top of the legs).
Another popular method for bay clamming is the use of specialized tongs
from a boat. Operators use the long tongs to probe the sand for clams. Clam tongs appear very much like two clamrakes with teeth hinged like scissors.
CLaMS
CLaMS is a modular chemistry transport model system developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. CLaMS was first described by McKenna et al. and was expanded into three dimensions by Konopka et al....
from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live. It is done both recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
ally (for enjoyment or as a source of food) and commercially
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
(as a source of income). Commercial digging is colloquially referred to as clamming, and is done by a clammer.
Amateur clam digging is often done using a straight long-handled spading fork or a spading shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
.
Commercial clamming for the larger surf and quahog clams (soup clams) is primarily done offshore, via mechanical dredging. To harvest cultivated clam beds, aquaculturalists
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
often use a much smaller version (hand pulled) of the offshore dredge. Another form of commercial clamming is done from a flat decked boat using a clamrake with a telescopic handle. The head of these rakes have long tines attached to a "basket-like" cage in which the clams are collected.
In the Minas Basin
Minas Basin
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...
area of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
digging for soft-shelled clams
Soft-shell clam
Soft-shell clams, scientific name Mya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "longnecks", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams" are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae....
is usually done with a clam hack, a spading fork with its short handle bent perpendicularly away from the fork's head. A digger typically uses the hack by grasping the spine of the prongs in one hand and the handle of the fork in the other to push the hack down into the mud, clay, or sand and then pull it up and towards him/herself. This digging action opens up the soil to expose the clams. Those clams legally long enough (44 mm (1.7 in) in Nova Scotia) are then taken by hand and put into a peck
Peck
A peck is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. Two pecks make a kenning , and four pecks make a bushel....
-size (9 litre) bucket used for measuring the volume of clams collected.
Clam digging on the New England coast is done using a "clam hoe" (a pitchfork with the handle cut off about 18 in (45.7 cm) from the tines then bent about 70 degrees) and a "roller" (a half bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
basket built using wood lathes or wire mesh) and hip waders
Hip boot
Hip boots, or waders as they are colloquially called, are a type of boot initially designed to be worn by river fishermen. Hip boots are typically made out of rubber, and completely cover the legs, up to the tops of the thighs or all the way up to the waist...
(boot that extend up to the top of the legs).
Another popular method for bay clamming is the use of specialized tongs
Tongs
Tongs are used for gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nippers, but the greatest number fall into three classes:...
from a boat. Operators use the long tongs to probe the sand for clams. Clam tongs appear very much like two clamrakes with teeth hinged like scissors.