The Sipayik Community Clam Garden — a project that began in 2022 in Half Moon Cove and has since become the largest soft-shell clam garden in the world — is nearing its first harvest, according to steward Erik S. Francis. All of the clams from the harvest will be distributed to tribal members at no cost.
“It’s a really good project for future generations,” Francis said. “We are trying to build the clam population back to where it used to be, even though we are dealing with green crab struggles. They are a voracious predator, and they do not discriminate.”
The soft-shell clam population in the state has declined by approximately 85 percent since 1977, according to figures from Downeast Institute, with warming waters and green crab predation cited as the primary factors for the decline in a study published in March. Even with the decline, clamming remains one of the largest fisheries in the state — and the ties between the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the mollusk are thousands of years deep.
“It’s something that really resonates with me,” said Francis, who himself dug clams for years before volunteering for this project when it was launched. “It’s time that somebody really made the effort to restore the beaches.”
The clam garden project began in 2022 through a joint effort of Downeast Institute, Maine Sea Grant, Sunrise County Economic Council, Wabanaki Reach, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and numerous volunteers, with an initial seeding of 250,000 clams. With this year’s planting, the garden will be home to up to 1.25 million clams.
The clams take about three years to grow to harvestable size, with the first sample harvest planned to happen within one or two months, Francis said.
“This project aligns with the work Brian [Beal] has been pioneering since 1987 when he started the Beals Island Regional Shellfish Hatchery to produce soft shell clam seed for local communities,” said Kyle Pepperman, associate director at Downeast Institute. “We’re able to take Brian’s decades of research and field experience to develop the best practices for growing clams and share it with the tribe in Sipayik. We’re honored to be a partner in this effort, and I look forward to hearing how the tribal people enjoy the clams when they are harvested.”
Alongside the plantings, Francis has been monitoring the plots for green crabs, including recently conducting a study to determine when the crabs become active and when they go dormant. The results inform when the plantings should be scheduled, and, if they should lose a net, whether they should replant it or wait. Mistakes are costly, Francis said, as they found during the first planting in 2022 when several plots were lost in a matter of days, with each plot being 14 feet by 14 feet and having around 5,000 clams. Since the initial plantings, survival rates have improved, with the more than 200 planted plots having an estimated survival rate of 67 percent.
Moving forward, Francis is looking to plant oyster seed in the garden in June and July, he said, counting on their shells to provide a natural resistance to the green crabs. Later on, he plans to introduce scallops as well.
