The Shellfish Commission has a new mystery to solve.
It all started with a simple question from Jon Grant, who asked about the results of water testing last summer in the Great Salt Pond. Grant posed the question during the public input section of the commission’s meeting on Dec. 10.
Grant had some items for show and tell. He pulled four quahog shells from his pocket and placed them on the table. One shell appeared normal, but the other three were bleached white, chalky, and eaten away. But by what?
Grant explained that while out clamming he filled a five-gallon bucket with clams from one of his “secret spots” and most exhibited the chalky quality. He said he expected the shells to be empty, but they weren’t – they were live clams with good meat inside.
The area Grant was digging in was sandy and gravely. He said he had talked with a “neighbor who digs in mud,” and who did not find any similarly affected clams.
Speaking from the audience, shell fish farmer Katherine Puckett said she also gets “shells like that,” although the
