APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
40 million pounds which is biologically sustainable at the 
1975 population size and recruitment rate. 
An MSY has not yet been established for the hard clam 
resource. Nevertheless, a State fishery official believes 
that the natural resource is being harvested at sustainable 
levels. More resource assessment information is needed and 
would aid management of the fishery. Propagation efforts for 
hard clams have emphasized artificial spawning and culling 
the young clams which are relatively easy to raise. These 
clams are reared in specially designed hatcheries and are 
then transplanted to controlled growing areas. Development 
of a method to protect clams from predators, such as starfish 
and crabs, would also boost commercial production and would 
encourage the operation of clam hatcheries. 
In Maine, which produced about 75 percent of soft clams 
in 1975, there is no established MSY for the resource. But 
a State official believes that the resource is being fished 
at about the sustainable level possible with current harvest- 
ing gear, hand hoes. Use of this gear, according to the 
State official, results in large numbers of clams left dying 
in the clam flats. With the use of a hand dredge, generally 
prohibited in Maine, a State official estimates that current 
yields could be increased 100 percent or more. The increase 
is rehated to a large reduction in the mortality of clams in 
the flats caused during harvesting and to harvesting new 
areas where using hand hoes is uneconomical. 
The Maryland soft clam resource was hit hard by Hurri- 
cane Agnes in 1972. Since then, the fishery has not yet 
recovered, in part due to less favorable salinity rates in 
the water and clam predators. A State biologist, however, 
believes that there will be a substantial increase in land- 
ings within the next few years. 
On the Pacific coast, Alaska has a large number of 
underutilized clam resources, but Washington is presently 
recognized as the center of clam production on the west 
coast. A commercial harvest of clams in California and Oregon 
is virtually nonexistent. In Alaska past and present produc- 
tion has not approached the estimated sustainable yield. The 
true sustainable yield is unknown, but a University of 
Alaska Sea Grant study estimates that yield to be about 50 
million pounds (shell weight) a year. The maximum catch in 
Alaska has only been one-tenth of that amount and in recent 
years has not exceeded 1 million pounds. 
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