Last week, Mike Pinkham and I spent a few days constructing five nursery trays that our small seed clams would soon be placed in. A nursery tray is a rectangular wooden tray about 3-4 feet in length and width, and about 3 inches high. The bottom and top of each tray is made of a … Continue reading Nursery Trays are Floating
Two-Month-Old Clam Growth Update
In order for the clam lab to be cost effective, it is important that our clam population has a high survival rate as well as a typical growth rate. The good news is, most of our two-month-old clams have survived up to this point. The bad news is, their growth rate is significantly slower than … Continue reading Two-Month-Old Clam Growth Update
Reseeding the Mud Flats
Procedure Mike Pinkham, Ada Fisher, Noah Milsky, and Vicki Rea head out to the mud carrying materials for reseeding the flats. Collect your mud-ready clams and place them in regular 5-gallon buckets (no more than 5,000 clams per bucket) Gather other materials 14ft x 14ft netting Garden rake Stakes (4 stakes per netting) Mallet or … Continue reading Reseeding the Mud Flats
One-Year-Old Clams: It’s Time For The Mud
Since my time here, I have learned just how unpredictable it is to raise soft-shell clams in an upweller. Right when you think you have things under control, a new problem arises. We have been working hard, attempting to solve issues ranging from identifying and controlling harmful species in our upwellers, to water flow inconsistencies, … Continue reading One-Year-Old Clams: It’s Time For The Mud
Tunicate Trouble
Every other day, I hose down the one-year-old clams and their mesh-bottom buckets with salt water. As I was rinsing and washing these buckets, I saw an increasing number of unfamiliar organisms attached to the one-year-old clams. After discussing these organisms with the Downeast Institute (DEI) as well as the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), … Continue reading Tunicate Trouble
Seed Clam Growth
Just about one month ago, we put our tiny seed clams in the upweller tank. Because this was our first time rearing clams this small in the upweller tanks, there was a steep learning curve. A day after we spread the little clams evenly into six, one millimeter mesh-bottom buckets, we soon realized that these … Continue reading Seed Clam Growth
Cleaning the Tanks
Procedure Make sure the pump is running and put on an apron and bootsTurn off the water flow in tank 2Carefully scrape down the sides of the seed clam bucket with your hand making sure there are no seed clams stuck to the sides. Some seed clams like to stick to the sides right near the … Continue reading Cleaning the Tanks
Clam Count and Weight Data Collection
Procedure Set up a table near the upwellerGather materials:Amir Digital Kitchen Scale Petri dish¼ cup scooperPaper towelsnotepadUsing the ¼ cup scooper, scoop out a random sample of clams from one of the bucketsThe clams should fill more than half of the cup, but not totally fullTry to remove the water from the scooper before placing the … Continue reading Clam Count and Weight Data Collection
Shell Length Data Collection
Procedure Set up a table near the upwellerGather materials:Caliper ¼ cup scooperPaper towelsnotepadUsing the ¼ cup scooper, scoop out a random sample of clams from one of the bucketsTry to remove the water from the scooper before placing the sample of clams on the paper towelRandomly select one live clam from the sample, and using your … Continue reading Shell Length Data Collection
Cleaning the Seed Clams and Buckets
Procedure Make sure the pump is running and put on an apron and bootsTurn off 1 and ½ valves in both tanksOpen the valve that goes to the hoseCheck the water pressure on the hoseYou want enough pressure to spray the mud and clam poop through the mesh, but not too much pressure that you … Continue reading Cleaning the Seed Clams and Buckets