Clam Mariculture in North America

Clams have been harvested along the coasts of North America for as long as records have been kept.

They support commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries although unfortunately, with few exceptions, the harvest of these invertebrates is declining.

This decline is probably caused by a number of factors including pollution and overfishing.

In an effort to ameliorate this situation, interest in the aquaculture of these species has grown.

Intensive semi-controlled clam culture has been attempted in North America for almost three decades.

However, it was not until the last decade that a number of entrepreneurs actually began clam farming and developing successful and profitable operations.

This success has been possible because of numerous scientific and practical contributions made by a great number of scientists, growers, and clammers over the years, and by a healthy market demand caused by a downward trend in the wild harvest.

Many of the techniques used in clam culture were developed for other species and have been modified and adapted by the culturists.

Scientific contributions are published and dispersed in a number of journals, books and symposia proceedings.