What is a “geoduck” and how much did a recent harvest of them net for Washington state?”
The geoduck (pronounced /ˈɡuː.iːdʌk/ “gooey duck”), Panopea abrupta, is a species of very large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Hiatellidae. The shell of this clam is large, about 15 to over 20 cm in length (about 7 to 9 inches), but the extremely long siphons make the clam itself very much longer than this: the “neck” or siphons alone can be one meter in length.
The slow economy has had little effect on the commercial geoduck industry, where prices for the giant clams are holding strong, according to Jane Chavey of the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A fleet of up to 10 dive boats from six companies has been operating recently north of Blake Island, where divers will harvest some 277,000 pounds of geoducks from 146 acres of seabed before mid-June, she said. Winning bids opened in April for the 10 tracts ranged from $4.49 per pound up to $5.28 per pound, making the total value of the harvest worth more than $1.4 million. “The prices of geoduck have held firm or increased slightly over the last few years,” Chavey said, adding that a weakening dollar improves the prospects for overseas sales. Most geoducks are exported to Asian markets, where they are considered a delicacy. Geoduck neck meat is sliced thin and eaten raw in sushi and sashimi. Other parts of the clam are used in a variety of Asian soups. Geoducks are managed for the lon
The slow economy has had little effect on the commercial geoduck industry, where prices for the giant clams are holding strong, according to Jane Chavey of the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A fleet of up to 10 dive boats from six companies has been operating recently north of Blake Island, where divers will harvest some 277,000 pounds of geoducks from 146 acres of seabed before mid-June, she said. Winning bids opened in April for the 10 tracts ranged from $4.49 per pound up to $5.28 per pound, making the total value of the harvest worth more than $1.4 million. “The prices of geoduck have held firm or increased slightly over the last few years,” Chavey said, adding that a weakening dollar improves the prospects for overseas sales.
