PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Chad Coffin has spent the coronavirus pandemic the same way he has in previous decades: in the swamps of Maine, digging shells that attract tourists to New England seafood huts.
But he faces a problem: a few shells.
“There are simply no shells that existed,” Coffin said. “I don’t want to be negative, I’m just trying to be realistic.”
It’s a familiar problem facing New England clamdiggers. In the last year, several New Englishmen have dug in the tidal marshes, but the shells are not cooperating.
The coronavirus pandemic has inspired many people in the northeastern states, especially Maine and Massachusetts, to dig for soft shells, which are also called “steam” and have been used to produce shellfish and generations. The era of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic is conducive to often solitary work, said Coffin, president of the Mammy Clammers Association, which represents commercial clammers.
But U.S. shellfish shipments have declined in recent years as the industry has faced predators that consume shellfish and heated water, and 2020 and early 2021 have been particularly difficult, industry members said.
In Maine, the largest shellfish-producing state, fishermen have produced the lowest transport in 90 years, with just over £ 1.3 million in 2020. National totals are not yet compiled, but Maine transport it usually accounts for more than half of the US total. , and shipments to other claiming states, such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York, have been on a downward trend in recent years.
The lack of shells has contributed to rising consumer prices, Coffin said. He also raised fears that future generations of shells would be even smaller in number, he said.
“Some of the guys who claim make money now, but they’re practically selling their future,” Coffin said. “The resource continues to dwindle.”
The clamshell industry has had to deal with several marine predators of mussels, such as green crabs and milk ribbon worms, in recent years. The scientists said predators were encouraged by the warm waters of key habitats, such as the Gulf of Maine, which is one of the fastest warming bodies of water in the world.
The shortage of mussels coincided with a period of high demand for mussels and this served to raise prices. Soft-shelled shells often sell for about $ 7 a pound at retail, which is about 40 percent more than normal and a surprisingly high number for spring, Coffin said. The demand for shells is usually the highest in the summer.
Soft-shelled shells were the second most valuable species, after lobsters, in Maine last year, state records show. Shells were worth about $ 15.7 million at the docks, a competitive total in recent years and $ 2.39 per pound, which was the second highest figure in recorded history.
Prices are rising due to factors such as interest in local food during the pandemic and a limited amount of shellfish on the market, said Brian Beal, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias whose research focuses on shellfish. The price increase is pleasant in the short term for shellfish gatherers, but long-term problems pose a major threat to fishing, he said.
“It’s interesting that demand is still there for soft shells and that demand determines that price, and that causes people to go and collect shells,” Beal said. “We still have to look at historical trends. One way to look at it is that they have been the lowest for a long time. ”
The lack of shells was a problem for both commercial and recreational shells. Predatory crabs from Europe are also a problem for Cape Cod hobbyists, said John Townes, president of the Barnstable Shellfishing Recreation Association.
“I’m a terribly invasive species,” he said. “They are great predators.”