Clamming Question

[adanac]

Where is the most local beach to Vancouver we can dig and retain bivalves safely ? Are these closures more of a precaution set out by the DFO or are they a hard and fast rule that the beaches around Vancouver are contaminated? Just confused as we dig clams just south of the border at my girlfriends place in Birch bay with no issues, and I can't see the beaches just north being that much different .

 

[Pippen]

You've pretty much got to get to the Gulf Islands or up the Sunshine Coast past Sechelt, and even they get closed from time to time in the summer.

 

[Dogbreath]

are they a hard and fast rule that the beaches around Vancouver are contaminated? Just confused as we dig clams just south of the border at my girlfriends place in Birch bay with no issues, and I can't see the beaches just north being that much different .

IIRC it's an issue with Dioxin from pulp mills some of which are no longer in business but their poison lingers.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/contamination/biotox-eng.html
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/contamination/sani/index-eng.html
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/contamination/sani/area-secteur-29/area-secteur-29-eng.html

 

[adanac]

IIRC it's an issue with Dioxin from pulp mills some of which are no longer in business but their poison lingers.

Interesting, thanks for the replys .

 

[bigdogeh]

IIRC it's an issue with Dioxin from pulp mills some of which are no longer in business but their poison lingers.

One of those gifts from industry that keeps on giving...

 

[Cuba Libre]

Aw --the good old days. Crescent Beach horse clams !!! Blanch the necks, cut the tips off and skin them and butterfly the necks for some awesome clam fritters!! Now-- they probably glow in the dark or emit toxic smoke when pulled from the sand....

 

[the fog ducker]

we harvest time to time out west , anyone have any tricks on getting all the sand out of clams
ive tried suspending em in burlak saks off the dock for 2 days , still getting sand ,
nuisance at the table


other suggestions ??

fd

 

[bullyjack]

we harvest time to time out west , anyone have any tricks on getting all the sand out of clams
ive tried suspending em in burlak saks off the dock for 2 days , still getting sand ,
nuisance at the table


other suggestions ??

fd

We used to put em in a bucket of freshwater with oatmeal in it, seemed to work from what i remember but that was 40 years ago...........

 

[Bent-Tip]

We used to put em in a bucket of freshwater with oatmeal in it, seemed to work from what i remember but that was 40 years ago...........

Yeah we did that too with cornmeal.

 

[Pippen]

we harvest time to time out west , anyone have any tricks on getting all the sand out of clams
ive tried suspending em in burlak saks off the dock for 2 days , still getting sand ,
nuisance at the table


other suggestions ??

fd

Hey Buddy.....as was said, a bucket with corn/oatmeal will work. Big thing is if the clams are on 'terra ferma' you need to flush the water fairly regularly.

I am wondering if burlap may be too thick and not let the water really get "around" the clams? I dunno.

95% of the time I use a 5 gallon pail hung off the dock but this past year a friend gave me some mesh bags (which I think were designed FOR this exact purpose) to hang suspended in the water...they worked great.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Stick to Manilas or littlenecks-- just leave them in a bucket of saltwater for a couple of hours and they purge themselves quickly. Butters-- oatmeal.

 

[trophywife]

watch out for the bearded ones

 

[the fog ducker]

Hey Buddy.....as was said, a bucket with corn/oatmeal will work. Big thing is if the clams are on 'terra ferma' you need to flush the water fairly regularly.

I am wondering if burlap may be too thick and not let the water really get "around" the clams? I dunno.

95% of the time I use a 5 gallon pail hung off the dock but this past year a friend gave me some mesh bags (which I think were designed FOR this exact purpose) to hang suspended in the water...they worked great.

i think ur right Scott , my sack is probably to thick for a Clam Wrap

fd

 

[CIVANO]

I have put clams in a recirculating live well and they were pretty clean in a few hours. The bottom of the well had a lot of sand they purged.

 

[sly_karma]

Stick to Manilas or littlenecks-- just leave them in a bucket of saltwater for a couple of hours and they purge themselves quickly. Butters-- oatmeal.

Seconded. The smaller species are more tender as well. Just avoid Varnish Clams, similar size to Littlenecks but they have a pale grey shell with a shiny brown lip (I guess that's the varnish). They always seem to contain sand even when taken in the same location as littlenecks or manillas.

 

[Fixit]

i use my dive collection bag- same mesh as my military laundry bag. hang them overboard for 2-4 days, no sand whatsoever

 

[capt hook]

i heard you have to simulate high and low tide..
eg. into water and then out of water a FEW times..
after they sit out of water for a hour or so , when u put water back on them they purge as if trying to burrow back into the sand.
we have tried it and it seems to work pretty good.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Naaa-- that is wayyy over the top.... LOL!!!