Page 16 - Little Egg Harbor CC 2019 Book 6-17-19.indd

It was common to see fl otillas of clam boats Lost income from smaller catches was Today, Shellfi sh Farmers have leased special
working the bay on a daily basis. Some people mitigated by rising prices. This helped support “farming rights” in different parts of our local
harvested clams after work or on weekends the local Baymen. But then the oil shortages waters. These areas are marked with buoys
to supplement incomes. Local teens used the tripled fuel expenses. None the less, clams and wooden stakes and are designated to be
clamming industry for summer employment. were in demand, prices were up and dealers harvested only by the Shellfi sh Farmer. There
competed for local clams. are hundreds of shellfi sh farms operating
In those years, a late afternoon scene up and down the east coast. With each
reproduced itself up and down the local In the early 1980’s, one enterprising young passing year, more is learned about shellfi sh
coastline… Baymen and often their family clam dealer purchased a large machine aquaculture and applied to the process. The
members could be found by the water, sorting which automatically sorted clams by size. He result is a consistently growing supply of fresh
clams by size. Then they would count and used this machine to market his clams as “a clams. And because our local clam farmers
bag the clams in burlap sacks. Daily catches consistently and correctly sorted product”, only harvest what has been ordered for that
sometimes amounted in the thousands of which was important to restaurants. This day, local clams could not be any fresher.
clams. After a long day of hard physical work machine also attracted local clammers by
on the bay, sorting and bagging clams was a eliminating the lengthy hand sorting process A few local Baymen continue to traverse our
lengthy process. of their catch. The young clam dealer went on local waters and they harvest wild clams for
to become one of Southern New Jersey’s larg- the market. Those Baymen work the water
There was only the sound of the clams rattling est seafood suppliers. for the money, but they do it for other
against each other, while the people sorted reasons as well. And those reasons are
and counted. They worked quietly so as not to And local Baymen struggled to continue their reasons only a Bayman can understand.
disrupt and confuse the constant counting of way of life, but natural clam stocks continued
clams. Talk could resume once the clams were to dwindle. Eventually, there were not enough Of course, local recreational boaters can fi nd
counted. Then heavy sacks were loaded in clams to support the entire clamming fl eet. an ample supply of wild clams in sections of
the Bayman’s car trunk or pick-up bed, Change was on the horizon. During the next the waters not used for farming. Treading or
destined for fi sheries, restaurants or clam two decades, many local Baymen retired or scratch raking is the preferred method and
dealers. The clams were usually delivered found other ways to make a living. with a little work, enough can be caught for a
the day they were caught. Local clams were large supper of clams on the grill or steamed
always fresh. And this was a way of life for But the public’s demand for local clams clams or a pot of clams in white sauce (with
many local people for many years. continued and new methods were sought to linguini). And let’s not forget, clam chowder.
supply that demand. Although it began as little
Things appeared to continue unchanged more than a local curiosity, some local Baymen Information Sources:
during the fi nal decades of the 20th century, began to experiment with aquaculture… “The Story Behind the Dish” by Mark McWilliams.
but 200 years of harvesting clams began farming clams. The process is much like land “Developments in Aquaculture and Fishery
to take its toll. The natural clam stocks based farming in that it involves 3 steps: Sciences” Vol. 31 by JL McHugh.
diminished and the daily catches became a hatchery, a nursery and then the fi eld grown “The Indians of New Jersey” by M.R. Harrington.
smaller. At the same time, Ocean County’s process before marketing. Up and down the “Closed Sea, A History of Barnegat Bay” by
population increased and so did the demand east coast, clammers began to experiment Kent Mountford.
for clams. with clam aquaculture. “Tuckerton Beacon” Vol XXXIII, No. 30,
February 24, 1921.

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