Courtesy of N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries 



Photo by Kathy Hart 



A kicker stirs the water for an early catch 



Charles Gilgo 



kicker plate deflects the prop wash 

 from the rudder to the bottom, where 

 it furrows a path eight to 12 inches 

 wide. The wash has enough force to 

 blow out shells, clams, grass — what- 

 ever is in its path. A heavy trawl or net 

 is pulled behind the boat and hauled 

 aboard every 10 to 20 minutes to 

 empty the net. 



Only a few fishermen initially adopt- 

 ed the kicking methods, says Fentress 

 "Red" Munden, shellfish coordinator 

 for the state Division of Marine Fish- 

 eries. But a severe freeze during the 

 winter of 1976-77 laid a thick layer of 

 ice over northern clamming grounds 

 and caused seafood dealers to look 

 southward. Clam prices jumped and 

 more fishermen turned to kicking, 

 many trying to recoup losses from 

 1978's disasterous shrimp harvest. 



Clam kicking is a more efficient 

 means of harvest. An average kicker 

 will net 20 to 25 bags of clams a day, 

 while a hand raker will harvest five to 

 six bags a day. 



Initially there were few restrictions 

 on clam kicking. Kickers could harvest 

 clams year-round in any area they 

 could reach that was not polluted. But 

 a clamor quickly arose from fisher- 

 men, rakers and others concerned 

 about the grass beds. Grass beds pro- 

 tect not only clams but other juvenile 

 fishes, shrimp and other shellfish im- 

 portant to North Carolina commer- 

 cial fisheries. Complaints poured into 

 Marine Fisheries. Many fishermen 



wanted the Division to put an end to 

 clam kicking. 



The Marine Fisheries Commission 

 saw no need to end a valuable winter 

 fishery, but it did begin imposing 

 regulations in order to manage clam 

 harvests. The commission limited 

 mechanical harvesting to winter 

 months, restricted kicking to daylight 

 hours and certain days of the week, 

 and set size limits. 



Many clam kickers welcomed the 

 restrictions. "We knew we needed a 

 season," says Charles Gilgo. "Other- 

 wise we would clean everything out in 

 just a few years. We wanted to pro- 

 long the clams so we could continue to 

 make a living." 



In 1978 the Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission closed the grass beds to kick- 

 ing. "I believed the grass beds should 

 be set aside for the rakers," says Gilgo. 

 "They're natural breeding grounds for 

 shrimp and a lot of fish. And they're 

 areas that shouldn't be kicked." 



Today clam kicking is limited to 

 Core Sound. Munden estimates about 

 200 boats were rigged to kick in Core 

 Sound during the 1981-82 season. Har- 

 vest pressure has mounted, and fisher- 

 men like Charles Gilgo say things 

 don't look good for the future. 



"On a good day a few years ago I 

 could bring home ten thousand to four- 

 teen thousand clams a day," Gilgo 

 says. "Now on a good day I may bring 

 in seven thousand to eighty-five hun- 

 dred clams. Prices have dropped too. 



Prices were sky high a few years back, 

 but we've seen a decline over the past 

 two years. 



"I think Marine Fisheries should re- 

 seed places where we're kicking," 

 Gilgo says. "It's the only way kickers 

 like myself are going to keep going. 

 Clams just can't reproduce fast enough 

 naturally." 



Seeding Core Sound with clams ap- 

 pears unlikely, Munden says. Ex- 

 perimental data indicate blue crabs 

 would eat most of the seed clams in 

 Core Sound. 



Clam kickers also would like for 

 Marine Fisheries to open up some new 

 areas for kicking. But Munden says, 

 "We feel all the area that can 

 reasonably be opened has already been 

 opened. To open other areas would 

 damage grass beds, oyster rock or 

 other fisheries. 



"The fishery has reached the point 

 where it is limiting itself. We could 

 start a rotational system but it would 

 involve the same area divided up into 

 smaller portions. We're just not going 

 to open any virgin area. The fisher- 

 men have backed themselves and us in 

 a corner. There's so much pressure on 

 the resource in this case I don't feel the 

 resource can stand it much longer." 



Whatever management system the 

 Division of Marine Fisheries chooses 

 for the future, it's sure to need some 

 solid scientific data about clam biology 

 and harvest methods to be successful. 



—Kathy Hart 



