Clammers seek answers for losses> Officials shed light on shrinking industry

EASTPORT — The Maine clam industry has lost millions of dollars and thousands of jobs during the past decade, and people here want to know what can be done to make the industry in the Cobscook Bay area viable again.

On Saturday, nearly 40 recreational and commercial clammers and members of the town’s clam committees met at the Marine Technology Center to consider ways to improve management and increase productivity in the Cobscook Bay area clam flats.

The group also discussed sending delegates to a statewide meeting in Rockport on Dec. 8.

Closure of clam flats often leads to an outcry from local clammers. During the meeting Saturday, Paul Anderson, director of Shellfish Sanitation for the Department of Marine Resources, drew laughter when he began his presentation with a quick question and answer. “Why do we close clam flats, and who decides? I decide. Any questions?” he asked.

Clammers had plenty of questions about closure of the flats, environmental impact, and possible solutions to problems that close the flats.

Anderson explained that pollution hurts clamming. “We are talking about sewage pollutants, things that we know get into clams and make them harmful. That is why we close them,” he explained.

Chemical pollutants such as Velpar, an herbicide used on blueberry lands, are not addressed by Anderson’s department, although he admitted those issues need to be examined.

“Somewhere along the way, we need to bring in researchers, perhaps environmental protection agencies and other means of looking at those questions. I don’t think we can expect the DMR to answer all those questions for you,” he said.

Anderson warned that figures regarding the size of clam flats statewide should be viewed cautiously. He said there are about 98,000 acres of flats.

“Don’t take these numbers as gospel because there are different ways of getting these numbers. But it has been said for the last 20 years that about a third of our flats are closed statewide. Of course, depending on where you live, 100 percent of your flats may be closed,” he said.

The pollution problems the DMR examines include: municipal treatment plants; licensed overboard discharge; septic system straight pipes; septic system malfunctions; outhouses; waste left behind by domestic animals and wildlife; marinas and anchorages; and streams and other fresh water.

Anderson said water-quality monitoring involves 2,400 stations from Kittery to Canada, which are sampled six times each year. Once the water has been tested, the flat from which it was taken is placed in one of four possible classifications: approved, which means it may remain open; prohibited, which means it must close; restricted, which means there may be a pollution problem but it is not affecting the immediate area; and conditionally approved.

Anderson explained that flats receive conditional approval because of differing seasonal conditions.

“We might find out that it is dirty in the summer, but clean in the winter. Then we look around and see there is a marina and boats and a lot of summer activity. So then we will close it when the data is bad and have it open on the off-season,” he said.

In order to reopen a flat, Anderson said, there has to be a change.

“I need to see that the water quality has improved. Or someone calls up and says `We got rid of those three failing septic systems, or the overboard discharge has moved, or we put in a sewage treatment plant and the outfall is over there where there aren’t any clams,”‘ he said.

Anderson said the Department of Environmental Protection has two programs in place to monitor and replace licensed overboard discharge or failed septic systems polluting clam flats. He encouraged small communities in the area to take advantage of those programs.