This project will examine reproductive output of softshell clams in three regions of the maine coast during 2023 and 2024 with the long-term goal of reversing the trend of decreasing clam harvests…

This two-year, $599,998 project grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Fisheries Development and Utilization Research and Development Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program (CFDA 11.427) will examine the reproductive output of softshell clams in three regions of the Maine coast. The Downeast Institute For Applied Marine Research and Education, Inc. will measure spatial and temporal variability in reproductive output for softshell clams of varying sizes placed in experimental units at different tidal positions in Brunswick, Bremen, and Jonesport, Maine in March 2023 and 2024. Beginning in late April each year, the project will monitor larval production and settlement to gain insights on factors influencing population recruitment. This research aims to reverse declining clam harvest trends and increase yields to benefit both the resource and fishing communities in Maine through a better understanding of softshell clam reproduction across tidal zones.

This project will examine reproductive output of softshell clams in three regions of the maine coast during 2023 and 2024 with the long-term goal of reversing the trend of decreasing clam harvests towards increased product yields that will benefit both the resource and the fishing community. This project will measure spatial and temporal variability in reproductive output in a wide size range of soft-shell clams, MYA arenaria, along a tidal gradient in three geographically distinct regions of the maine coast over two spawning seasons. In march 2023 & 2024, a common size-distribution of local clams will be added to 1 FT2 experimental units (24/FT2) protected with predator-deterrent netting at three tidal positions (upper, mid, and lower intertidal) at a tidal flat in a community representing three regions of the coast: brunswick (southwest), bremen (midcoast), and jonesport (eastern). At each tidal flat in each year, beginning the last week of april (prior to clam spawning when