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The Soft-Shell Clam
The Soft-Shell Clam Ecology (Mya arenaria)

This thin-shelled bivalve is found in subtidal and intertidal sediments. The shell colour varies from white to dark grey and blue, depending on the sediment in which they live. The clam filter feeds on microscopic plant and animal matter, such as algae and diatoms, which makes them susceptible to pollution.

The Soft-Shell Clam Industry


Soft-shell Clams (Mya arenaria)
Humans have harvested soft-shell clams from the Annapolis Basin since 1000 B.C. (DFO, 1997). Hundreds of metric tons of soft-shell clam landings have been harvested from the Annapolis Basin throughout the late 1960's and 1970's (Angus et al. 1985). In the past the harvest from the Annapolis Basin accounted for 30% of all the soft-shell clam landings in the Scotia-Fundy region and 68% in the province of Nova Scotia (Angus et al. 1985).

It is a Clam Harvesting Area 2 (CHA2) and there are two clam diggers associations, which are actively harvesting, the Digby County Clam Diggers Association and the CHA2 Clam Harvesters Association. Since the 1970's environmental, biological and managerial circumstances have resulted in beach closures.

Current Challenges
  • Increasing beach closures due to fecal coliform bacteria
  • Environmental impacts of a causeway and tidal power plant at Annapolis Royal
  • No stock assessments or catch limits
  • Unsustainable number of harvesting licenses
  • Illegal harvesting
  • Limited enforcement on beaches

The Soft-Shell Clam Economy


Clam Harvesters in the Annapolis Basin
The soft-shell clam industry can be sustainable and in this region has been a lucrative enterprise. In 2006 approximately 170 clam harvesters and their families received $2.3 million in revenues (Sullivan, 2007). The economic and employment realities in rural Nova Scotia make a strong argument for the enhanced management and sustainability of the soft-shell clam harvest in Annapolis Basin.

The Clean Annapolis River Project has been working with the clam harvesting associations, various levels of government and nongovernmental organizations to ensure the sustainable and successful management of the clam-flats and address circumstances and factors that cause beach closures and threaten the industry.
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