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Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Farm Raised Clams!
Research from Oceanus (online magazine that explores oceans) supports why Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Farm Raised Clams.The picture below is of a clam bed lease in Wellfleet Harbor, MA that was infected with QPX (quahog parasite unknown), which is an infectious Trojan horse clam disease. Wellfleet Harbor will never be the same after man selected which clams should grow instead of letting nature select the clams through biodiversity. Since all of the planted clams are essentially the same genetically, disease goes right through the population like wildfire. Note in the linked story. Rhode Island is one of the only clam producing states that has not had an outbreak of QPX. This is because there are virtually no clam farms in Rhode Island due to strong opposition from the "Quahoggers"-the wild clam diggers.
Remember-It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature!
Farmed clams are easily taken-you just walk down to the beach where they're planted ass-thick and dig them up. The wild stock fisherman must venture out and rely on his art of being tuned in to weather and tide/current predicting, finding the wild clam beds, equipment utilization, and direct competition from other fisherman - which essentially means that your "spot" could get jumped while you're working in it. Clam farms often turn public tide lands into private property-as in "no trespassing." Wild quahoggers work on free and common open access public land, which means there are no staking claims to private property. There is a big difference in the degree of difficulty in producing wild clams compared with farm raised clams.
Federally subsidized aquaculture puts natural wild stock fisherman out of business. Our food sources need to be one of our highest priorities. We'll be adding information about sustainable commercial fisheries to this site to keep you informed. Please support sustainable wild fisheries.
Commercial Fishing
 I was fortunate to learn early in my fishing career at the age of 21, that the laws of nature do not follow the laws of man. I was sailing on the 83' F/V Edna May out of Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island, to haul lobster traps that were set along the Atlantis Canyon region of the Continental Shelf. These areas are known as "the fish tail," and the "fathom curves"- about 100 miles south of RI. This was late November - the 22nd, 1980 - the forecast was for fair weather all 3 days of our trip.
By early morning of the second day we began experiencing 100 mph early winter winds with mountainous seas. This storm was a classic example of explosive storm cyclogensis-a Storm that builds up to extreme intensity from nothing in a virtual instant.
Unlike in the story and movie Perfect Storm, where weather forecasters predicted the combination of storms that would create the Perfect Storm, this storm came out of nowhere, and showed the men plotting that nature follows its own rules. Bobby Brown of the Perfect Storm fame and his son Peter play a major part in this story.
Michael Tougias did a great job describing the unfolding disaster that went down as the day with the most distress calls in New England history- and it's miraculous ending. Check out Fatal Forecast!
83' F/V Edna May
Jimmy Wampum - Rhode Island Mussel Man!!
Jimmy Wampum prepares to unload 50 bushels of wild Rhode Island mussels from the F/V Aurora at American Mussel Harvesters in North Kingstown, Rhode Island (photo above).
Photo on left shows the ~2,500lbs of mussels being prepared for processing. American Mussel Harvesters sells wild RI mussels under the brand "Rhody Royals" and can be purchased by calling 401-294-8999.
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One Of The Most Important Issues Facing the U.S.
The destruction of the commercial fisherman in the
United States and communities that support them by federal and state fisheries managers should be of the utmost concern to Americans. The importance of this issue cannot be underestimated as our country moves through unprecedented stormy economic times.
The system of state and federal management that has been developed over the last 30 years has led to the destruction of the right of communities to meet one of the most vital needs of it's people- real food. Local commercial fisherman supplying food to the inhabitants of communities throughout the world is as old as time.
The local commercial fisherman still holds a revered position in many societies. The village is waiting onshore in gratitude for the return of the heroic fisherman, and the life giving healthy food they catch. In the
U.S., and many other industrialized nations, the commercial fisherman has been demonized by regulators and environmentalists as blight on society.
Leading Edge Sciences promotes the awareness of this issue, and defends the basic constitutional rights of local communities to insure their commercial fisherman have the access to vital fisheries resources their communities need to survive. Click on this link for you tube clips on this issue.
Rhode Island Quahogs
 Nutritious and delicious!! Hearty (Sushi grade), organic and hand-harvested.Native American Indians fed their babies clam broth!!
Delicious clam recipes can be found in
Rhode Island bullrake harvesting quahogs
Check out bullraker.com for the latest digs on the Rhode Island quahog fishing industry.
Quahogger's-The Film
Quahoggers explores the working life of two shellfishermen in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. By following them, the film looks at the past, present and uncertain future of the quahogging industry.
The quahogger's reminisce and romanticize about the past and their life on the water while also telling of their fear of the future. Problems that threaten the the future of the industry, such as environmental concerns, aquaculture and less people joining the field are explored.
The film ultimately asks the question: is there a future for Narragansett Bay shellfishermen? |
Free and Common
