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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Hard Clams

© Scandinavian Fishing Yearbook/www.scandfish.com
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Atlantic Surf Clams Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Surf Clams, Clams U.S. Atlantic Clam Dredge
Clams Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Cockles, Littlenecks, Manila, Razor, Steamers, Venus Worldwide Farmed
Giant Clam/Geoduck Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Mirugai, Horseneck Clam, Long Necked Clam, Jumbo Clam U.S., Canadian Pacific Wild-caught
Hard Clams Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Littleneck, Cherrystone, Chowder U.S. Atlantic Rakes, Shovels
Ocean Quahog Clams Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Quahag, Black Clam U.S. Atlantic Clam Dredge
Pacific Razor Clams Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Northern Razor Clam, Razor Clam Washington, Oregon, Quinault Nation Hand Harvested
Softshell/Steamers Clams Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Fryer, Ipswich, Longneck, Steamer U.S. Atlantic Rakes, Shovels


Atlantic clams

Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs are a "Good Alternative." Hard clams from North Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island and softshell clams from Maine and Massachusetts are a "Best Choice."

Consumer Note

Atlantic surf clams are generally not available for purchase as whole clams, but instead are sold in soups and chowders, as chopped or minced clam meat or breaded clam strips.

Summary

Several species of clam are found along the Atlantic coast from northern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This recommendation covers four U.S. Atlantic clam fisheries for Atlantic surfclams, ocean quahogs, hard clams and softshell clams.

Clams vary widely by species, from fast growing to extremely slow growing and long lived. The ocean quahog is one of the longest-lived and slowest-growing clams in the world, so careful monitoring of this stock is important.

Whether caught by dredge, or hand-harvesting, bycatch is very low in these clam fisheries. The use of hydraulic dredges is the major concern, as these have impacts on the seafloor, even when used in sandy habitat. The disturbance of sediment can last as long as 40 days, and the dredge track may last as long as a year.

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