WHY NOT DIG A CLAM FOR SUPPER ?

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You needn't incur the complications and expense of sport fishing to enjoy a year-round supply of fresh seafood ... not if you live near a coast and you're onto George Emlen's "secret"!

One of the nicest things about living here on the Maine coast—or on any coast, for that matter—is that you can enjoy fresh seafood of one sort or another year round. And precious few sources of protein are as inexpensive and abundant (or as free of hormones, curing agents, dyes, etc.) as ocean-fresh seafood.

Of course—as you know if you've ever lived near a fishing community—you don't necessarily harvest all this bounty just any old time you please. In my neck of the woods smelts are a winter catch, alewives are something you go after in the late spring, mackerel become prime prey for the shore forager only in the summertime ... and the season for any one of these three finfish doesn't really last long. It's much the same story with the crustaceans and mollusks: Lobsters are most plentiful here in Maine during the fall and scallops in the winter.

Ah, but there's more than mackerel and lobsters in the sea. The humble soft-shell clam, for instance, can be dug and eaten fresh any time of the year. And, perhaps best of all, you can do that diggin' yourself ... with little or no special equipment ... and with no prior experience at all!

THE "MESS DIGGER" TRADITION

In these parts (and along many stretches of Atlantic and Pacific shoreline), clam-digging is a widespread practice, honored by tradition and sanctioned by law. Local people take it for granted that they'll stretch their food budgets each year with this seafood staple ... and bringing home a "mess" of freshly dug clams is a basic part of the everyday lifestyle of many coastal inhabitants.

It's little wonder, then, that so many state statutes and town ordinances recognize the clam-digging tradition. Although the exact limit varies with the municipality involved, the so-called "mess digger" (as opposed to the commercial digger) can— in my area—harvest up to half a bushel of clams per day for himself and his family without having to obtain a license.

THE NUTRITIONAL REWARDS OF CLAMMING

Nutritionally, clams fall into the low-fat/medium-protein category when compared to the traditional high-protein favorites of the American diet. For example, in 100 grams of clam meat (typically four large-or nine small-clams) you'll find 14 grams of protein and one gram of fat ... while in the same amount of sirloin steak you'll find 23 grams of protein saturated with a full 32 grams of fat. And the clam protein is actually of higher quality and more easily digested than the beef protein.

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