Marine Fisheries Service are now actively co- 

 operating with the surf clam industry and are 

 expending considerable time and effort in the 

 development of new types of clam harvesting 

 gear suitable for use in exploratory surveys 

 and biological studies. 



MANUAL COLLECTING METHODS 



Hand Collecting 



In all probability, the first surf clam harvest- 

 ing method employed in this country was that 

 practiced by the American Indian. Goode 

 (1887) quotes one of the earliest "tracts" writ- 

 ten upon our natural history, Wood's "New 

 England Prospect" (1634), which says that 

 along Nahant [Massachusetts] Beach, the sea 

 "after storms casts up greate store of greate 

 Clammes which the Indians taken out of their 

 shells conny home in baskets," and which also 

 says "Clammes as big as a halfe-penny loof, 

 which are greate dainties amongst the natives." 



Another early and simple method of harvest- 

 ing was employed by farmers along the New- 

 Jersey coast, who, after finding large quantities 

 of surf clams washed ashore by severe storms, 

 would shovel them into their wagons to be 

 hauled away for field fertilizer, for hog and 

 poultry feed, or for use as bait. At about the 

 same time (approximately 1878), a new fish- 

 ery was beginning at Dennisport, Mass., where 

 the surf clam was harvested by means of clam 

 rakes operated from dories which were either 

 hand or sail propelled. This method of dory- 

 hand raking for clams was only used out to 

 about ll/i miles from shore (Fig. 1). The 

 rakes were made of iron with wooden handles 

 and measured from 20 to 27 ft in length; the 

 rake heads had 17 to 25 teeth and cost from 

 $5 to $8 apiece (Fig. 2). Most of the raking 

 was done in water depths of about 8 ft and 

 at ebb tide, although at times the fishermen 

 worked as deep as the length of the rake (ap- 

 proximately 18 ft) and tong handles would 

 permit (Goode, 1887). Potato forks or sim- 

 ilar instruments are used to harvest the surf 

 clam in certain areas of Canada. 



Rakes 



There are two types of rakes used in the 

 commercial fisheries today. These are the com- 

 mon clam rake and the bull rake (Fig. 2). The 



common rake is similar to a garden rake except 

 that the teeth are larger and sharper. It is 

 equipped with a wire mesh basket or "apron" 

 which holds the catch, and it is generally used 

 in very shallow water. (A modification is used 

 in Maine for gathering Irish moss (Dumont 

 and Sundstrom, 1961).) 



The bull rake, used generally in New Eng- 

 land, is a large implement with a head between 

 20 and 30 inches wide (Fig. 2). It has long, 

 curved teeth which are about 9 inches long. 

 Unlike the common hand rake, the bull rake 

 does not have a basket or apron, its handle is 

 usually longer, and it is used in deeper water 

 than the hand rake (Dumont and Sundstrom, 

 1961). 



Like the common rake, the bull rake has nu- 

 merous modifications. One of these is called 

 the Shinnecock rake. This rake is used only 

 in Maryland. Its long, curved teeth are pro- 

 gressively shorter toward the ends of the rake 

 head (Fig. 2) and are shaped to form a basket 

 in which the clams rest as they are raised from 

 the bottom (Dumont and Sundstrom, 1961). 



Tongs 



Another implement used during the early 

 days of the industry for gathering surf clams 

 was the hand tong (Fig. 1). Hand tongs are 

 actually a pair of rakes attached to the ends 

 of two long poles which are up to 20 ft in length 

 and are fastened together like a pair of scissors 

 with the fulcrum near the lower end. A bas- 

 ket-like frame is attached to the back side of 

 each rake in order to hold the catch (Dumont 

 and Sundstrom, 1961). 



The production potential of rake and tong 

 gear was obviously limited, and before any 

 large expansion could take place in the surf 

 clam industry, development of more efficient 

 harvesting gear was necessary. 



POWER COLLECTING METHODS 



Scraper-Type Dredges 



During the 1920's, scraper-type dredges 

 were developed which could be towed behind 

 power boats. These were usually 18 to 28 

 inches wide with a knife blade (rather than 

 teeth) located in front of a scoop which sloped 

 upward and backward toward a bag for hold- 



