Block Island Times

Commission zeroes in on damaged clam cause

The Shellfish Commission welcomed two new members at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14., Tom Walsh and Sadie Flateman, and got them up to speed on various issues ranging from invasive crabs to proper procedures to be followed during meetings.
But first off there was an update on the cause of damage to clamshells that commercial fisherman Jon Grant brought to the commission’s attention at their last meeting. Grant had been digging in one of his “secret spots” and discovered that many of the clams found there had shells that appeared eaten away by something and were crumbly, although the meat inside was perfectly fine.
“No one really digs where those chalky clams were,” said Grant. He suggested harvesting the clams in that area and moving them to where people more commonly dig for clams.
“Let me jump back,” said George Davis, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of Wendell Corey. He had heard back from both Diandra Verbeyst of The Nature Conservancy, and Dale Leavitt, Associate Professor of Biology at Roger Williams University. “Shells are rotting because it’s more acidic,” he said, explaining that because the soil

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