578 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



Table 126. Pack of Canned Clams and Clam Products, 1939 to 1948. 

 Whole and minced 



1948 107,177 29,085 36,932 1,006,580 1,179,774 8,329,639 



^ The production of canned surf clams in Maine has been included with the pack of 

 soft clams. 



Source: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



was occasionally eaten by man; during World War I it came into prominence as 

 a som"ce of food and continues to be marketed in considerable quantities. At the 

 same time the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) came into more general commer- 

 cial use. This clam resembles in size and shape the hard clam or ordinary quahog. 

 It is found in water from 80 to 120 feet deep, buried in the muddy bottom. The 

 outside of the shell is covered with a dark brown or black membrane. It is prin- 

 cipally used in minced form for chowder. Very little is known of its life history. 

 There are a few physiological diflFerences between the two hard clams. 



On the Pacific Coast a number of species are utilized. Of these the razor clam 

 (Siliqua patula) is perhaps the most highly esteemed. It is used both fresh and 

 canned. The Atlantic species {My a arenaria) has become widely established and 

 in some regions forms the basis of a considerable fishery. Other clams of commer- 

 cial importance are: Tivela stultorum, the "Pismo clam"; Paphia staminea, known 

 as "littleneck clam" or "rock cockle"; Schizothaerus nuttalU, variously known as 

 "Washington clam," "great Washington clam," "great blue clam," and "gaper"; 

 two species of Saxidomus—Saxidomus nuttalli and Saxidomus giganteus, which also 

 are called "Washington clam" (not because of their distribution) and sometimes 

 "butter clam"; and Macoma nasuta, the "bent-nose clam." 



Life Histories of Most Important Species of Clams Utilized Commercially 



Mya arenaria, commonly called "soft clam," "long clam," "long neck," "squirt 

 clam," "mananose," "sandgaper," and "old maid," is found from South Carolina 

 to the Arctic Ocean. It is the principal species north of New York. About 1870 

 this clam was introduced into Pacific Coast waters, and it is now widely distrib- 

 uted along the Pacific Coast. 



The life history of this clam is very interesting. The male and female cells are 



