OYSTER, CLAM, SCALLOP, AND ABALONE FISHERIES 189 



juice. The clam juice has a pleasing flavor and is quite nutritious. Any 

 excess of that needed for canning is bottled and sold as ''clam nectar." 

 Clam chowder is another popular canned product. The ingredients vary 

 with the section of the country where it is prepared, but it usually con- 

 tains bacon, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, marjoram, salt, 

 pepper, and, if properly made, plenty of clams. All or a portion of these 

 ingredients may be used, depending upon the preference of the trade. 

 Cans used for the steam-canned product range from the No. one tall 

 salmon can to the No. one picnic or eastern oyster can. For minced clam 

 products, the one-half pound flat can is popular. Small amounts of clams 

 are pickled, salted, smoked, or dried. 



On the Pacific Coast the razor clam is in demand as a fresh market 

 item and as a canned, minced product. The bulk of the canned pack is 

 now produced in Alaska where the beds have been subject to less intensive 

 fishing than those farther south. The clams are washed free of sand and 

 passed through a steam box having a reciprocating mesh-covered screen. 

 The reciprocating motion of the screen keeps the clams moving forward 

 and the meats are steamed loose from the shells. As the clams are dis- 

 charged at the end of the steam box, a blast of air at right angles to the 

 direction of travel of the conveyor blows the shells aside into the waste 

 conveyor. Razor clam shells are much lighter in proportion to the total 

 weight than other species and may be easily diverted by the air blast. 

 The meats pass on to other workers who clip off the dark ends of the 

 siphon tips and slit the siphons to wash out the sand and silt and separate 

 the visceral parts. Meats go through a grinder and are filled mechanically 

 into the cans. A small portion of the pack is put up as whole clams. 



The composition of clam meats for the eastern species is: 



Carbohydrate 5.2% 



Minerals 2 % 



Shell waste (quahog) 67.5% 



Importance of the Industry. In 1959 the United States clam fishery 

 produced 44,995,000 pounds, having a value of $11,594,000. Nearly 80 

 per cent of this quantity was produced in the Middle Atlantic and 

 Chesapeake Bay areas, 16 per cent in New England, and 3 per cent on 

 the Pacific Coast. 



The Scallop Fishery 



Primitive peoples have long appreciated the scallop, not only for its 

 excellent food value but also for the beauty of the shell. Scallop shells 

 have served a utilitarian purpose as money, as a trade item with tribes 

 far from the coast, and as a source of material for many beautiful orna- 



