After many months of discussion, the Shellfish Commission has decided to try raising softshell clams in its upweller during the 2022 growing season.Softshell clams have declined enough that they are prohibited from being taken from the Great Salt Pond.The decline in the softshell populations is attributed to various factors, predation by green crabs being the major one. Ocean acidification is also believed to be a problem.Previous efforts years ago by the commission to seed areas of the Great Salt Pond with soft-shell clams have been unsuccessful, and there is more work involved as attempts are made to protect the juvenile clams from predation by covering them with nets.Undeterred, the current members of the commission are taking a new tack. They plan to obtain seed clams in two sizes, one size for the upweller (one millimeter) and a larger size (eight millimeters) to be “planted” in the pond.
Commission Chair George Davis said he had been advised by the Downeast Institute in Maine to try a method of raising the clams in “plant pots.” (Most people would be more familiar with the term flower pot.)
According to a manual on the Downeast Institute’s website, the small clams are put
