APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
TABLE 3 
Summary of Clam Landings 
by Gear, 1972 
(Meat weight) 
Pounds 
Gear Surf clam Hard clam Soft clam Other clam Total Percent 
(000 omitted) 
Dredges 63,466 3,287 1,950 1,642 70,345 hlieS 
Rakes 2 7,265 120 9 7,396 8.2 
Hoes 3 10 6,978 2 6,993 Vad 
Tongs = 3,826 = - 3,826 4.2 
By hand = 986 30 = 1,016 IL gal 
Shovels = 331 = 171 502 -6 
Picks = 373 = = 317/83 4 
Diving 
outfits = - = 163 163 of 
Otter 
trawls - 75 - - 75 sil | 
63,471 GEES 9,078 1,987 90,689 100.0 
In New York, which produces most of the hard clams, clam 
diggers currently use about 4,000 small boats, approximately 
14 to 30 feet long, to harvest hard clams. In addition, 25 
boats harvest from private grounds using mechanical equip- 
Meer 
The main types of hand gear used to harvest the soft 
clams are clam hoes. Escalator dredges are used primarily 
in the Chesapeake Bay region. This highly mechanized fishery 
was nonexistent before 1950, but with the invention of the 
escalator dredge, it rapidly expanded. The Maine soft clam 
fishery is essentially a seasonal hand labor industry reguir- 
ing a small investment. The necessary gear and equipment 
are four-tined, short-handled hoes, half bushel rollers, and 
a means of transportation to and from the flats. Small out- 
board motor boats or row boats are used except where flats 
are easily accessible by land. 
Pacific coast clams are harvested by hand or dredge. The 
size of the operation determines the equipment used. Although 
mechanical harvesters are available and in use, many clams are | 
still harvested by hand, using rakes, forks, shovels, 3nd 
other devices. 
Products and processing 
Clams are sold in a variety of forms and used in many 
different ways. Clams are sold in the shell either fresh or 
49 
