Editing Clam digging (section)

{{Short description|Clam harvesting technique}}
{{redirect|Clam digger|the trouser style|Three quarter pants}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2012}}
[[File:Oregon Coast Clamming.jpg|thumb|Two clammers on the Oregon Coast]]
[[File:Clam digging, Cape Cod.JPG|thumb|Two people digging for clams on [[Cape Cod, Massachusetts]] in 2008]]
[[File:Nuns clamming - Toni Frissell LC-F9-04-5709-012-17.jpg|thumb|Clam digging on [[Long Island]], 1957 (photo by [[Toni Frissell]])]]
[[File:Clam digging in Haneda 1937.jpg|thumb|Clam digging in [[Haneda]], 1937]]

'''Clam digging''' is a North American term for a common way to harvest [[clams]] (edible [[infaunal]] [[bivalve]] [[mollusk]]s) from below the surface of the tidal sand flats or [[mud flats]] where they live.  It is done both [[recreation]]ally (for enjoyment or as a source of food) and [[commerce|commercially]] (as a source of income).  Commercial digging in the U.S. and Canada is [[colloquial]]ly referred to as ''clamming'', and is done by a ''clammer''.<ref>''Random House Webster's college dictionary''. 2nd ed. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.</ref> 

Amateur clam digging is often done using a straight long-handled spading fork, or a spading [[shovel]].   

Commercial clamming for [[quahog]] clams, and the larger [[Atlantic surf clam|surf clam]]s (soup clams) is primarily done offshore, via mechanical [[dredging]].  To harvest cultivated clam beds, [[aquaculture|aquaculturists]] often use a much smaller version (hand pulled) from the offshore dredge.  Another form of commercial clamming is done from a flat-decked boat using a clam rake with a telescopic handle.  The head of these rakes have long tines attached to a "basket-like" cage in which the clams are collected.

In the [[Minas Basin]] area of [[Nova Scotia]], digging for [[Soft-shell Clam|soft-shelled clams]] is usually done with a ''clam hack'', a [[spading fork]] with its short handle bent perpendicularly away from the fork's head.  A digger typically uses the hack by grasping the spine of the prongs in one hand and the handle of the fork in the other to push the hack down into the mud, clay, or sand and then pull it up and towards him/herself.  This digging action opens up the substrate to expose the clams.  Those clams legally long enough ({{convert|44|mm|disp=or|abbr=on}} in Nova Scotia) are then taken by hand and put into a [[peck]]-size (9 litre) bucket that is used to measure the volume of clams collected. 

Clam digging on the New England coast is done using a "clam hoe" (a pitchfork with the handle cut off about {{convert|18|in|disp=or|abbr=on}} from the tines then bent about 70 degrees) and a "hod" or "roller" (a half [[bushel]] basket built using wood lathes or wire mesh) and [[Hip boot|hip waders]] (boot that extend up to the top of the legs).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crouch |first=Ray |author2=Catherine Schmitt |author3=Natalie Springuel |date=2014 |title=Fisheries Then: Clams |url=http://www.downeastfisheriestrail.org/fisheries-then/clams/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924102057/http://www.downeastfisheriestrail.org/fisheries-then/clams/ |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |access-date=2014-05-06 |work=Downeast Fisheries Trail}}</ref> The use of other tools is prohibited in some areas.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brewster Non-Commercial Shellfish Rules and Regulations|url=http://brewster-ma.gov/component/content/article?id=587|website=Town of Brewster government|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Town of Chatham Shellfish Rules and Regulations|url=http://www.town.chatham.ma.us/public_documents/ChathamMa_shellfish/ShellReg2004Book.pdf|website=Town of Chatham Massachusetts|access-date=14 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043736/http://www.town.chatham.ma.us/public_documents/ChathamMa_shellfish/ShellReg2004Book.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

Another popular method for bay clamming is the use of specialized [[tongs]] from a boat. Operators use the long tongs to probe the sand for clams. Clam tongs appear very much like two clam rakes with teeth hinged like scissors.<ref>Roberts, Russell, and Richard Youmans. ''Down the Jersey Shore''. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1993. Print. 124.</ref>

Digging for [[Pacific razor clam|razor clams]] using a clam shovel or tube is a family and recreational activity in [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington state]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Recreational Razor Clamming |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108215009/https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfishing-regulations |archive-date=Jan 8, 2024 |access-date=2014-05-06 |work=Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=How to Dig Razor Clams |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/howto_dig.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016185333/https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/basics/digging-razor-clams |archive-date=Oct 16, 2023 |access-date=2014-05-06 |work=Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| title = Razor Clams
| work = Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
| access-date = 2014-05-06
| date = 2014-03-03
| url = http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/razorclams/index.asp
}}</ref>

In Maine coastal towns and cities regulate digging clams in cooperation with the state Department of Marine Resources. Town clerks and city clerks issue recreational licenses for residents and nonresidents limiting digging to certain waters during certain times of the year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shellfish {{!}} Department of Marine Resources |url=https://www.maine.gov/dmr/fisheries/shellfish |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=www.maine.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shellfishing and Clam Digging in Maine (ME) } Visit Maine |url=https://www.visit-maine.com/state/shellfishing/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=www.visit-maine.com}}</ref>