APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
"Cherrystones" are medium-sized and medium-priced clams used 
almost exclusively for baked clams. "Little necks" are the 
smallest and most expensive and are used mostly in the half- 
shell trade and as steamed clams. 
Processing of soft clams consists of desilting and wash- 
ing for resale or shucking. At the shucking plant, broken 
and small clams are discarded because they are difficult to 
hand shuck. After shucking, clams are washed in a large air 
agitated water bath, drained and packed in gallon cans, and 
chilled in a cold room for several hours. The chilled cans 
are then placed in barrels and iced for shipment to market. 
Canned clams from the Pacific coast must compete with 
canned clams from the Atlantic coast and with imports which 
are usually Manila clams from Japan. Pacific coast clams are 
usually more expensive than the others and this tends to de- 
press the price to a level making canning only marginally 
economical on the Pacific coast. 
Some clams that are processed for use as crab bait are 
washed, then dyed to identify them as crab bait. The clams 
are then usually placed into 25- or 50-pound sacks and frozen 
complete with shell. No significant plant equipment is re- 
quired for this process. The frozen clams are stored at the 
cannery until sold to the fishermen. 
Markets 
Clams are high in protein. Between 1965 and 1974, as 
shown in table 5, apparent aggregate consumption of clams in 
the United States has increased 73 percent. Per capita con- 
sumption has increased from .373 pounds in 1965 to .589 
pounds in 1974. Clam imports, also shown in table 5, have in- 
creased in recent years. In 1974 clam imports were valued at 
$5.8 million. Exports of clams are reported combined with 
other shellfish exports and as such are considered relatively 
small. The exvessel prices for major clam species since 1965 
are shown in table 6. 
The largest markets for hard clams are New Jersey, New 
York, and Pennsylvania. Other major markets are in Florida, 
Illinois, and California. 
About 45 percent of Maine's 1974 soft clam production 
was consumed within the State, while the other 55 percent 
went primarily to Boston, Massachusetts, where distribution 
is provided for the soft clam markets centered in the New 
England area. 
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