Fishing for Info

Adult geoduck in a blue tank, with a long white siphon extending from its shell.

The geoduck is an impressive clam, distinguished by its long siphon. It is now farmed on a small scale in British Columbia.

Two women place young geoducks into PVC pipes stuck into muddy sand along a shoreline, with other workers and a boat in the background.

Geoduck Planting 13.08.19 by VIUDeepBay — Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Geoducks are farmed in shallow waters, where they are buried in the soft seabed and protected by plastic sleeves.

There are hatcheries on the West Coast that produce geoduck seeds. They look just like adult geoducks, except that they are tiny.

Good to Know . . .

Asian fish market with various types of shellfish displayed in tanks and baskets, with seven geoducks in the centre of the image.

Baloncici/iStock

Geoducks are popular in Asian cooking, and most of the geoducks grown in Canada are sold to the Asian market.

Manila clam with closed mottled-grey shell against a black background.

Chris Moody/Shutterstock

Although they look very different from their relatives, geoducks are part of the clam family.

Tip of a tan-coloured geoduck siphon, sticking up out of a sandy wet beach.

By Jeff – Flickr: What is that?????, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17422737

The long siphon of the geoduck has two openings at the end. One brings in oxygen-rich water and phytoplankton, and the other pushes out extra water.

Workers place geoducks into PVC pipes stuck into a muddy beach beside the water’s edge, with boats in the background.

Geoduck Planting 13.08.19 by VIUDeepBay is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Geoduck farming changes the way humans use and enjoy the beaches where it is practiced. However, scientists have found that the farms have little impact on other living things such as worms, crabs, and clams.

If allowed, geoducks can live for many years. The oldest recorded geoduck was 168 years old!