THE BUSINESS OF COMMERCIAL CLAMMING 



Clam growers like Kevin 

 Midgett can be found farming the 

 salty, nearshore waters of coasts 

 from Maine to Florida. 



Midgett is one of about 60 

 small-scale clam growers who 

 tend 285 shellfish leases in North 

 Carolina. He's among fewer still 

 — only three or four — who 

 raise clams from their own 

 hatchery larvae. Many others, 

 however, grow from seed that 

 they purchase from dealers. 



In 1994, leases such as 

 Midgett' s produced 12,103 

 bushels (about 1.2 million 

 pounds with shell) of clams in 

 North Carolina. Over the past 

 decade, the number of clams 



harvested from these leases has 

 averaged about 10 percent of the total 

 state harvest. 



But access to this way of living 

 is limited. The state grants people the 

 right to use public bottomland when 

 they petition for a lease to grow clams 

 or other shellfish. In essence, that 

 person has exclusive rights to the 

 bottom — nobody else can harvest the 

 shellfish there. On Midgett' s lease, 

 every customer who rakes will receive 

 a signed, dated permission slip. 



Leases are approved only after 

 they meet certain criteria: The area 

 must be biologically suited to grow 

 shellfish, and conflicts with fishing, 

 navigation or recreational uses must 

 be minimal. Although leases are still 



available in North Carolina, 

 they're harder to get in areas 

 with natural populations of 

 shellfish or those heavily used 

 for recreation or other fishing 

 activities. North Carolina now 

 has a moratorium on the sale of 

 new shellfish harvester licenses. 



In large part, the reason for 

 limiting the availability of leases 

 is concern about setting aside 

 public trust resources for the sole 

 use of an individual. The public 

 is prevented from using a plot 

 that's being leased by someone 

 else. So, there needs to be a 

 compelling reason for leasing 

 the public land to an individual. 



Seafood production is one. □ 



COASTWATCH 7 



