Gardening clams may seem strange possibly new DIY trend but they have been around for years. First nation clam gardens are likely the earliest form of aquiculture on the BC coast some have been dated to a 1000 years ago. If you consider the generations of knowledge passed down from those ancient clam gardens to now, it makes sense that the practice has been perfected to be sustainable. Clam gardens are made on beaches where humans have cleared and piled the rocks from an area to create a wall along the shore near the low tide point. The act of this leads to a buildup of “shell hash” consisting of coarse sand and broken barnacles, an ideal substrate for clams to grow. These conditions cause the abundance and productivity in the gardens to be very high. Recently there have been efforts to restore clam gardens, but is it worth it?
Clam gardens are a unique form of aquiculture because they have little negative impacts and are all natural in achieving high levels of clam abundance. Little neck clams exist in twice the abundance in clam gardens and butter clams in four times the abundance compared to regular beaches. The growth rates of juvenile little neck clams in clam gardens is also 1.7 times faster. Juvenile little neck clams also die less frequently in Clam Gardens. These high abundances are not just from the modification of the beaches but from the harvesting aspect as well. The physical act of harvesting actually increases the areas productivity. The mixing motion from digging allows for nutrients and oxygen to be carried to deeper layers of the sand, where usually they wouldn’t reach. The disturbance from moving the rocks to build the wall, is greatly outweighed by benefits to the bivalve community making clam gardens more sustainable.
Conservation these days in mainly aimed at reducing the risk of extinction, clam garden achieve this and more. From a not so ecological conservation approach clam gardens also achieve engaging the community in the ocean. To keep the clam gardens healthy they need to be maintained. Historically this was done by local populations. It was an opportunity for elders to pass their knowledge to a younger generation and for people to strengthen their connection to the ocean. This is extremely important for ocean conservation and there is not enough of this in Canada. People who feel a strong connection to the ocean and recognize its importance are more likely to stand up to protect it.
Clam gardens are definitely worth restoring. They make for a sustainable clam harvest, maintain First Nation’s culture and promote ocean conscience communities.
Resources for more information
http://clamgarden.com/research-2/restoration-in-gulf-islands/ (The Clam Garden Network)
http://www.sliammonfirstnation.com/archaeology/clams2.html (SFU Archaeology &
Tla’amin First Nation)
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/gulf/natcul/natcul6/natcul6a.aspx (Parks Canada, restoration project)
http://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/node/3582 (clam gardens of BC)
