Sarasota Bay Watch is seeking volunteers to help release 120,000 clams into Sarasota Bay on Saturday. The group is in need of boats to bring volunteers and clams to spots where they will be releasing them. Kimberly Kuizon reports.
They are considered a prized delicacy in cuisines around the world, but these tiny shellfish are creating a growing ecological concern along the Atlantic coast.
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A team of biologists led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MIT Sea Grant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Center for Coastal Studies discovered that the invasive Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, has established itself along the northwestern Atlantic coastline.
This region was the last place in the Northern Hemisphere to remain Manila clams free.
Manila clams are native to the coasts of Russia’s Sakhalin Islands through Japan and southern China.
(Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The study, published in Biological Invasions, found that the Manila clam has made Cape Cod and the Boston area its new home. This marks a rare opportunity for scientists to observe an invasive species as it begins spreading in a new environment.
“Given that Manila clams are everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere, it was only a matter of time before they showed up here, and we’ve been keeping an eye out for them,” said marine scientist Aly Putnam, a postdoctoral researcher at UMass Amherst and lecturer at Smith College, who is the paper’s lead author.
Manila clams are native to the coasts of Russia’s Sakhalin Islands through Japan and southern China. However, since at least the early 20th century, the species has spread to coastlines throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Trays of fresh seafood, including Manila clams and PEI mussels, on ice at a market, Walnut Creek, California.
(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)
While the clams are popular in many cuisines, representing a $7 billion per year industry, scientists say their spread could have consequences for local ecosystems.
Manila clams are known to compete with native shellfish, hybridize with similar species, and, in dense colonies, alter surrounding ecological communities.
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According to the study, the researchers say it remains unclear how the clams arrived in northwestern Atlantic waters and what their long-term impact will be on the Northeast’s coastal ecosystems.
Manila clams are popular in many cuisines, representing a $7 billion per year. industry
(MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We do need more research to understand the Manila clam’s potential effects on the shellfishing industry and ecological communities,” said Carolina Bastidas, co-investigator and research scientist with MIT Sea Grant. “On the positive side, because Manila clams can become a source of food for other animals, they can relieve pressure on native species. For example, the predatory pressure of green crabs on softshell clams. So, there could also be positive impacts.”
Manila clams are known to be delicious and are in many popular cuisines.
(Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The discovery highlights how invasive species impact marine environments. Scientists say more research is needed to determine whether Manila clams will become a minor addition to New England’s coastal ecosystem or will have a much larger effect.
“Discoveries like this remind us how much there is still a lot to learn about our coastal ecosystems,” Putnam said. “Finding the species is only the beginning. Now we are working to understand its distribution, if these populations are expanding and how these clams interact with other species in New England coastal systems. This research will help us determine whether this newcomer becomes a minor addition to the ecosystem or a more influential player in the years ahead.”
