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Farming Manila Clams
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Farming
clams start out at the hatchery where clam larvae is set on fine screens;
then the young seed is raised in up-wells, containers which allow plankton- rich water
to be pushed up through the juvenile clams, thereby allowing them to feed
continuously and grow rapidly.
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(Right) - Once the clam seed grows to sufficient
size, it is then put into mesh bottomed trays which are then taken out to
the bay to the nursery rafts. |
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(Left) - Once out to the nursery rafts,
stacks of the trays of clams are suspended from the rafts allowing them to
grow further, without having to raise the food in the hatchery to feed
them.
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Once the clams get up to fingernail size, they
are shipped to the growing area, in this case, Willapa Bay, Washington.
Here they are planted by distributing them over net panels, the clams
then work their way through the mesh of the net into the sand where they are then
protected from predators as they grow.
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Once they have reached
market
size, they are dug and bagged,
then brought to Penn Cove where
they are suspended from wet
storage rafts for purging until they
are sold.
Shown on the left are 25 pound
bags of Hilton-Petite Manila Clams
farmed at Willapa Bay, Washington,
grown by our joint venture partner,
Coast Seafoods Company.
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