Soft-shell Clams

species description | season | status | regulatory authority |
harvest method | recreational harvest | health benefits & risks | 
buying & preparing | brands | certifications | links | featured harvester

►Species Description
Soft-shell clams Mya arenaria
also known as steamers

Wild, with some hatchery supplementation (seeding of flats with juveniles).

Soft-shell clams burrow 8-14 inches into mud, sand, and gravel intertidal areas from Labrador to North Carolina. It takes three to four years for a clam to grow to market size (two inches).

►Season
Year-round, peak May through October.
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►Status
Soft-shell clam landings peaked in 1977 at nearly 40 million pounds; today the harvest averages around 10 million pounds per year, but the value of soft-shell clams has increased over time, and this fishery is currently Maine’s third largest in terms of value.

Commercial harvesters can only take clams with shells longer than two inches. Some clam flats are maintained or enhanced with hatchery-raised “seed” or baby clams. Water quality is important to sustaining a healthy clam resource, so managers and harvesters work to keep coastal waters clean and shellfish beds open.
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►Regulatory Authority
Maine Department of Marine Resources and individual towns work together to manage clam flats. Area biologists help towns with their conservation areas, reseeding, surveying, town license allocations, shellfish ordinances, warden programs, and more.
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►Harvest Method
Digging by hand with rakes and hoes.
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►Recreational Harvest
Yes. If collecting for personal use, check with your town office or the Department of Marine Resources to make sure the area is open to harvesting, 1-800-232-4733 or 207-624-7727. Shellfish areas along the coast are annually re-evaluated by DMR staff to identify and assess the impacts of pollution.
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►Health Benefits & Risks
All clams are low in fat and calories and are an excellent source of selenium, iron, and vitamin B12. Clams are a good source of zinc and contain omega-3 fatty acids. Clams are low in mercury.

Clams are filter-feeders and thus are vulnerable to bacterial pollution, chemical contamination, and harmful algal blooms (red tide), especially spring through fall. Clams in the market and on the menu are safe, when purchased from a certified shellfish dealer. If harvesting recreationally or for personal consumption, check the DMR’s list of closed areas before digging, 1-800-232-4733 or 207-624-7727.
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►Buying & Preparing
As suggested by their name, soft-shell clams have thin, relatively fragile shells. Broken or open clams should be discarded; after cooking, discard those clams that do not open.

To remove mud and grit from soft-shell clams, rinse thoroughly and, optionally, cover them with salted water and soak for 20 minutes to two hours to allow them to “purge” their stomachs of sediment. Some people put cornmeal or vinegar in with the soak. Steam over boiling water or beer.
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►Companies, Brands, and Labels
J.P.'s Shellfish
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►Certifications & Verifications
None.
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►Links
Downeast Institute's clam pages.
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►Featured Harvester
Chad Coffin
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species description | season | status | harvest method | recreational harvest
health benefits & risks | buying & preparing | brands | certifications | links | featured harvester