The 80th annual Pismo Beach Clam Festival brought thousands of people together to celebrate one of the city’s best-known coastal traditions while raising awareness about clam conservation and responsible harvesting.
While the festival celebrates the iconic Pismo clam, officials say illegal harvesting remains a concern.
The Pismo Beach Police Department recently recovered close to 500 clams seized from three Bay Area residents. Police Chief Jeff Smith said officers continue to encounter people harvesting clams that do not meet the legal size requirements.
We are seeing more and more cases of individuals going down, clamming and capturing a large number of clams that are non-legal size, Smith said.
The Pismo Beach Stewardship Program used the festival as an opportunity to educate visitors about clamming regulations and the importance of protecting the local clam population.
The program distributed hundreds of small bags filled with educational resources to help children learn about conservation and responsible harvesting.
Justin Blankenship, who sometimes goes clamming with his father, said the festival taught him more about how to identify clams that meet the legal size requirement.
We got to, like, focus on the clam shell, like, theyre 4.5 inches, and the butt has to face the ocean, Blankenship said. And if its right, you could take it home, but if its not, you have to bury it in the sand, and the butt has to face towards the ocean.
For Gloria Gaona, who traveled from Visalia with her grandchildren, the festival was also an opportunity to teach the next generation about protecting the ocean.
Who knows, you know, what might happen to the ocean, so we have to take care of it and preserve it for generations to come, Gaona said.
Emma Rhoads, stewardship program manager for Pismo Beach, said this year’s efforts placed a greater emphasis on conservation education.
Theres been a lot more focus on conservation and teaching people how important it is to the ecosystem, how they can protect the clam as well, whether theyre engaging in clamming or kids at the beach, Rhoads said.
Chief Smith also said city leaders have discussed the possibility of establishing a clamming season as another way to manage harvesting.
One thing that our City Council has talked about, considering near future, is having a clamming season, Smith said. There are cities that do that. That way individuals cant clam year-round.
The discussion comes as officials continue to emphasize the importance of following harvesting regulations to help protect Pismo clams for future generations.
Those interested in clamming can find information about the rules and regulations here.