In Maine, Can You Dig Your Own Clams for Dinner?

We all know what one of the best parts of living in Maine is...

If there's one huge advantage Maine has over the rest of the country, is our 24/7 access to the freshest seafood anywhere. Sure, there' some kinds of seafood that you can't get here, but that works both ways for the rest of the world. We're known the world over for our lobster, urchins, tuna, and haddock.

Plus tons more, but we don't need to inventory Maine's seafood here, haha. But, we can talk about another one of our seafood treasures... clams! There are many varieties like soft shell, razor clams, quahogs... all kinds. Like everything under the sun right now though, the price of seafood is going up. But you and your family can take a bite out of the cost of a seafood dinner.

Pack up the family, head to the beach and dig your own clams!

Alexandra Grablewski

Regular fishing requires patience and a lot of gear. You can all but reach into the sand and pull clams out. It helps if you have a few basic tools, but as far as the literal act of clamming, there's no rocket science involved. You just need to root around through some wet sand searching for dinner.

HABesen

Clams will also basically let you know where they're hiding. As opposed to a fish that will actively avoid you and your hook at all costs, clams just lay around in the flats, waiting to be dug up. It's some of the laziest food there is. Other than vegetables, this is it. Heck, you have to maintain veggies. Clams do all the work themselves, for you! This video makes the process look pretty straightforward...

Do you need a permit to dig clams?

Short answer, yes. But there are no state laws about it. Each town in Maine is responsible for their own clamming rules. So if you do decide to go, check with the town office where you intend to dig. For instance, it's only $11 in Freeport for a residential/recreational permit. But just down the road in Biddeford, the fee is $30 for residents.

The other thing you'll want to be familiar with is the bag limit on whatever you're digging. If you're after soft shell clams, you can keep a peck of clams, and they must be at least two inches long. A peck is about two gallons, volume-wise. so that's a decent haul. And you could probably also get more than one permit, so you could really make a dinner out of it. So yeah, you can dig your own dinner. Just follow the rules!

Can you imagine not liking clams?!