Process Development of Growing Soft-Shelled Clams and

Related Business Plan

A thesis submitted to the

Integrated Science and Technology Program
at James Madison University
in partial fulfillment of ISAT - 491/492/493
By
Joseph J. Capobianco
Ryan T. Hilton
Richard R. Harriott
under the faculty guidance of
Dr. Okechi Geoffrey Egekwu, PhD.

April 13, 2012

Submitted by:
(Joseph J Capobianco)

(Signature)

(Ryan T Hilton)

(Signature)

(Richard R Harriott)

(Signature)

Accepted by:

(Dr. Okechi Geoffrey Egekwu)

(Signature)

James Madison University

Abstract
Process Development of Growing Soft-Shelled Clams and Related
Business Plan
By: Joseph Capobianco, Richard Harriott, Ryan Hilton
Advisor: Dr. Egekwu

The objective of this project was to develop a process by which

soft-shelled clams (mya arenaria) could be grown in an artificial
environment, and be potentially used to replace the existing
distribution market of these clams. Research was conducted to
identify all required elements in order to successfully grow these
clams free of pollution, as well as to determine the most efficient
ways to reproduce clams, and minimize production cost. Our
team conducted several experiments on living clams to determine
several different optimal growing conditions that these clams
were to be exposed to. A theoretical plan was devised to lay out
large scale production of these clams, assuming that it were
possible and cost effective to grow these clams to optimal market
size within a warehouse type facility. This plan was developed
parallel to a business model that exploited both the existing
wholesale market for these clams as well as developing the
personal market across the country. The experiments conducted
during this project were made possible by contributions from Dr.
Geoffrey Egekwu, as well as marine ecology professor Dr. Brian
Beal from the University of Maine at Machias.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................X
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ X
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM.................................................................................................6
LITERATURE REVIEW SUMMARY......................................................................................7
METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................8
Selecting Water Quality Standards......................................................................8
Selecting Water Quality Indicators......................................................................8
Design Methods...................................................................................................9
Field Manual........................................................................................................9
DELIVERABLES.................................................................................................................9
APPENDIX A: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................10
UV/Solar Disinfection...........................................................................10
Electrolysis Disinfection........................................................................10
Non-Electric Pumps...............................................................................10
Water Analysis Equipment and Methods...............................................11
Microbiological.....................................................................................12
Slow Sand Filtration..............................................................................12
Photovoltaic Power Generation.............................................................13
APPENDIX B: GANTT CHART.........................................................................................14

Executive Summary
This report is aimed to lay out a plan for developing a method by which soft shelled clams can
be planted, grown, and harvested from an aquarium setting. Also to lay the foundation for how
this method could be potentially implemented into large scale production, and the related
business model.

Introduction
In modern day coastal communities shellfish is still a locally produced source of food. The
infrastructure in place for the harvesting and sale of Soft Shelled Clams relies on the digging of
clams from sand bars at low tide. These estuaries are often polluted and contain numerous
regulations regarding where clams can be harvested without penalization. These sand bars are
often seeded with clams by humans and then given years to grow before diggers can harvest
them for meals as well as a living. Because legal sized clams are a finite resource which many
people rely on as a source of income, many disputes erupt over territory and techniques which
may harm the growth of future clams.
The purpose of this project is to develop a method by which the Soft-Shelled clam can be
planted, grown, and harvested from an aquarium type setting. The proposed idea is that an
aquarium can be constructed within one of the ISAT laboratories. The parameters which affect
the clams health, taste, and growing speed are to be optimized. The most similar method in
use today consists of the breeding of clam larvae, and then the planting in designated areas
which are netted off so predators cannot reach the clams planted within an estuary. With the
development of the method to grow clams outside of an estuary, it will bring an opportunity to
implement large scale, planned production of organic and pollutant free clams.
Following the potential planning of large scale production using the developed method, comes
the implementation of a business model for selling wholesale quantities of soft shelled clams, as
well as filling small orders placed over the internet.

Background
Idea Formation
The idea to produce soft-shelled clams in a manufacturing setting has its roots in group member
Joey Capobiancos old job. During two summers of his college career he opted to make money
by becoming a baymen or a clam digger. In costal areas such as Long Island, many people
make their living by raking, harvesting, collecting, or digging different types of shellfish. Joey
was introduced to the industry of harvesting soft-shelled clams and selling them either to
restaurants or whole sale distributors.
Many factors lead to the idea that if these clams were produced in a manufacturing setting, it
could potentially lead to a profitable business in a market that has not yet been exploited. The
difficulty and obstacles to harvesting these clams is the main reason. These clams are only
accessible during dead-low tide. The water level has to completely be below the level of the

sandbar or tidal flat that these clams live. The reason is because the marketable size clam
buries itself up to a foot deep into the mud or sediment. Commercial diggers rely on hand held
rakes in order to move the thick layers of mud, gently, while protecting the soft shell of these
clams. Hard shell clam diggers use long rakes that can be used while either standing in a boat
or in the water. They do not have to worry about cracking the shells of those clams. The softshell clam can be cracked with the average 2 finger pinch of a human, which renders that clam
valueless.
Being a Clam Digger
When the digger is on the sand bar, or tidal flat, he uses the stomp technique to find densely
packed clams under the mud. The pressure of a foot pressing on the mud above these clams
causes these clams to retract their pisser or siphon while spitting out a stream of water above
the mud. This is why theyve obtained the nickname piss clam.
An experienced digger, uses some form of a tide chart, to determine the best times of day to go
harvest these clams. A sinusoidal graph depicts when the water level will drop below the
required depth to reach the sand bars, and also how long the water will remain out. This
directly relates to the amount of time a digger has to dig these clams, which in turn affects the
amount of money he or she may make that day. Weather as well as the location of the moon
effect how long a clam digger has access to the sand bars. Some days are much better than
others and some days the water may not go out far enough for diggers to reach their goals. Like
any other job, the better a digger is, the more money he or she makes.
While it seems simple to go out on the water and dig some clams, there are numerous amounts
of rules, laws, and regulations one must follow while digging clams. To be a commercial digger,
one must purchase a state, as well as a local town license every year. This helps the regulatory
agencies track the amount of clams being harvested. There are certain limits for each type of
clam as well as how many a digger can take in any given day. Many bays and estuaries are
zoned or marked where shell fishing is permitted. Some areas are open and closed seasonally,
some are permanently shut down, and some areas are shut down commonly after storms.
Areas become shut down due to many different types of pollution. Areas near roadways are
commonly shut down after large amounts of rain due to the amount of runoff from land. Clams
are extremely susceptible to pollutants in the water, and when a clam causes a human to
contract a disease it usually results in the area where it was harvested becoming shut down. If
a digger is caught digging from an area that has been shut down, they may face harsh fines,
imprisonment or even felony poaching charges. Signs can be posted anywhere in the bay area
that an area has been shut down.
Existing Market Structure
Many people who consume clams do not think about or understand where that clam comes
from before they eat it. Obviously they come from the water, but how they get to their plate,
BBQ, or soup, not many people care. Due to there not being a manufacturing setting that
produces these clams, all the clams that are consumed come from either local, or some form of
natural waters. These natural waters are the same waters that our sewers run into, our oil from

our cars drain to, boat engines leak into, etc. But one way or another a clam-digger goes out
onto a sand bar somewhere, either in sand, or mucky mud and harvests these clams during low
tide. He either stores them for a day or two, or drives them directly to a restaurant or local
seafood market where he is usually given a cash rate per pound of clam he brings them. By
bringing them directly to the place where they are sold to the consumer, he receives a pretty
high rate per pound. Although he may be told that the market only needs a certain amount of
those clams on any given day, and then he is stuck with the remaining amount of clams that he
harvested. One way a digger can avoid this dilemma, is to sell his clams to a wholesaler.
These people usually buy an unlimited amount at a slightly lower rate per pound. The
difference is, this wholesaler transports the clams he receives daily, to restaurants and markets
that he has previously been supplying at longer distances away.
Where the Demand Lies
The wholesaler that Joey used to sell his clams too, supplied markets in New England. In New
England, many local bays are polluted and the amounts of clams that grow naturally do not fulfill
the demand in that area. These clams, naturally have markets close to the area that they grow,
simply because seafood is more popular in coastal areas.
Softshells are a popular delicacy that spike in demand during the summer specifically around
Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. Inland seafood restaurants rarely ever stock this type
of clam due to the difficulty in keeping them fresh for an extended amount of time.
There are a few seafood websites that offer a service to ship softshell clams to consumers. The
rates charged on this seafood are extremely expensive. This can be attributed to the factors
involved in digging the clam, availability, as well as the luxury of ordering them to ones home
that may be hundreds of miles from the nearest natural clam bed.
The business plan developed by this thesis not only aims to provide existing markets a safer,
more reliable, and cheaper alternative to buying clams dug by clam diggers in natural waters,
but it aims to expand the soft shell clam market inland. The plan is to not only supply inland
restaurants and markets, but also develop a website that can specialize in shipping directly to
consumers anywhere in the country.

Literature search
Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) are an edible species of saltwater clam, a marine
bivalve mollusk in the family Mydiae. The clams spawn twice a year, during the
spring and during the fall, when the water temperature is 10-20 C. Ideal
temperatures are around 12-15C. Males and females release their sperm and egg
into the water, and the sperm fertilizes the egg. The eggs are 0.07 millimeters in
diameter and are protected with an outer envelope with a thickness of 0.03 to 0.1
millimeters thick. Fertilization occurs and the eggs hatch and develop into
trochophore larva within 12 hours. After several additional days the trochophore

larva becomes a veliger larva. In about one to three weeks the veliger
metamorphoses into a juvenile clam typically 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters. Once
metamorphosed into juveniles, they attach themselves to sand grains and begin to
settle into the sediment. Juvenile clams measure up to about 15 millimeters in
diameter and can be very active by often attaching themselves to hard substrate
with byssal threads. After a few more weeks, the clams burrow permanently and
the older they grow the deeper they burrow, while still maintaining contact above
the surface of the sediment with their siphons.
The clams siphons develop, the mantle fuses, and the shell develops ridges as the
clams grow older. Soft-shell clams are filter feeders; therefore they use their
siphons, which extend to the surface of the sand, to take in water. The clam
receives oxygen from the water as it passes over its gills. While the clams filter
water, cilia or small hair like structures trap plankton and microalgae for food. Once
the clam feeds the water is pass out through the exit siphon. During high tide the
siphons are extended out of the burrow, and during low tide they are retracted, but
not fully into the shell because they are incased in a soft flesh like tube.
Soft Shell clams can be found natively in eastern North America, from Labrador,
Canada to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The can be found on the west coast in
Alaska, north of the Aleutian Peninsula. They can also be found in Korea, the Kurile
Islands, and northern Japan. The soft shell clam has since been distributed all
around the world. In North America, it can now be found throughout the coast of
Alaska, British Colombia, Washington State, Oregon, and California. Around the
world, these clams can be found in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Baltic Sea, Denmark,
Faeroe Islands, Ireland, England, Atlantic France, Spain, Mediterranean France,
western Sicily, northern Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. A few specimens have also
been reported from the Saronikos Gulf in Greece. Different regions tend to have
slightly differing traits even though they are all the same species. Some of these
differences can be noted in shell texture or design, shape or even colors.
Mya Arenaria are subject to many different predators, which changes depending on
the development on the clam. In the egg and larval stages, predators include;
jellyfish, copepods, and filter feeding fish. During the larval and egg stage, about
90% of the clams perish before reaching the juvenile stage. Juvenile clams are
subject to such predators as; Polychaete worms, blue crabs, mud crabs, and shrimp.
Again, about 90% of the juveniles perish before reaching adulthood, leaving 1% of
the original egg and larval clams surviving to adulthood. Adult clams predators
include: blue crabs, eels, cownose rays, and moon snails, as well as humans. Adult
clams are different then juveniles in the way that if they are dug up, they have a
tougher time getting buried again due to the relative small size of their foot
compared to juveniles, making adults easy prey in that situation.
Contaminants have an effect on the wild adult clam population and are typically
caused by hydrocarbon pollution. The most evident hydrocarbon pollution affecting

clam population is oil pollution. Oil spills are potentially extremely damaging to soft
shell clams because the spilled oil slowly penetrates into the muddy sand and will
remain for years, eliminating most of the clam population. Heavy metals, such as
copper and mercury, from industrial pollution are also potential contaminant to
significantly slowing down the growth rate of soft shell clams. A heavy metal that
affects clams is tributyltin (TBT). TBT was a component of marine antifouling paint
and is extremely toxic to filter feeders and is bio-accumulated at high rates.
Bioaccumulation is a serious risk to human health. Pesticides have also shown to
be toxic to soft shell clams. Pesticides from farm fertilizer runoff that affect soft
shell clams include: DDT, PCB, endrin, dieldrin, and endosulfan. Chlorine also has
the ability to kill 50% of clams exposed within 16 hours. Although these
contaminants bioaccumulation in the clams fairly quickly, most can be flushed out
of the clams relatively quickly as well.
As filter feeders, clams are very susceptible to picking up toxins and contaminants
in the water they live in. These toxins directly cause human diseases when
consumed; including, hepatitis, typhoid, red tide illness, e. coli, and other illnesses
as well. Spoiled clams can also cause food poisoning to the person who consumed
them. Most of the clam-borne diseases are caused by septic contamination, heavy
metal contamination, and run off of other chemicals. All of these illnesses are
dangerous to your health, and some cases can even be deadly.
Water quality is important in the growth of all types of clams. One thing that needs
to be constantly monitored when growing clams outside of natural seawater is the
salinity. Salinity of water is measured in parts per thousand. The salinity of the
oceans varies depending on where you are in the world, and how deep you are in
the water. The water tends to become saltier as you go deeper. In order to measure
salinity, specific gravity measurements are commonly used, via hydrometer. A
specific gravity of 1 represents distilled water, and seawater has more contents so it
has a specific gravity higher than one.
The way these clams reproduce, by releasing sperm into the water to fertilize the
eggs also released in the water, allows for outdoor commercial farmers to collect
larva. The netting, or clam tent method is when netting is placed over a clam bed,
allowing the unfertilized egg through the mesh, and then catching the hatched larva
once it begins to settle. This allows farmers to plant clams virtually wherever they
please.

Experimental Set-Up
The big plan to grow mass amounts of clams has to begin by starting with a small
scale production set up. In order to monitor and assess the results, a 10 gallon tank
was acquired and designated as the clams growing environment. The first, most

important component that needed to be made carefully was the seawater. The
seawater was mixed using Instant Ocean Sea Salt, at a ratio of 35 grams per liter
of tap water. After consulting with Dr. Beal at the Downeast Institute, it was decided
that the amount of sea water to be used was going to be just a few inches above
the sand level, and that this water level would not have to be altered to emulate
natural tidal patterns. Another important component of this aquarium is the
aerator, which keeps the water oxygenated. Due to our low water level, a
submersible pump and filter was rendered useless. Our concern of not having a
filter in the tank has been relieved because the clams themselves are filter feeders
and should take care of the filtering themselves.
The first batch of soft shelled clams grown, were bought as seed clams from the
Downeast Institute. The seed clams were shipped overnight in an insulated box in
which they were kept at low temperatures. It was imperative to avoid shocking the
clams by throwing them into the room temperature water right away, so the clams
were left in a refrigerator along with but separate from the water that they were to
be placed in. The seawater had to be tested using a hydrometer, to ensure specific
gravity of slightly less than 1.022. Exceeding this amount would bring salinity levels
above 32 percent which would begin to kill the clams. Another important point to
remember is that over time, water will evaporate from the aquarium. The problem
arises in that the salt remains in the water, while fresh water evaporates. This
results in an increased salinity of the water, so it is imperative that the beginning
water level is monitored. As the water level drops it is okay to replace it with
normal tap water, as long as all of the seawater in the tank is completely drained
and replaced approximately once a month.
Play sand was purchased from Home Depot to act as the sediment that the clams
would dig into. As soon as the clams and the seawater were at the same
temperature it was then okay to consolidate the aquarium set up. When the clams
were first added to the aquarium, all that was in there was the seawater and the
play sand. It was evident which clams were dead or alive within the first few hours.
Dead clams, which would either be half shells or the clams that had floated to the
top had to be skimmed out of the aquarium. The rest of the clams seemed to be
quite healthy and began digging into the play sand. A useful piece of knowledge
regarding how the clams live, is when held lower than 10C the clams can survive
for days out of water, and with no food. Once the clams are exposed to room
temperature (approx. 20C) they begin filter feeding, if not in water, they will soon
die. The clams in room temperature water will soon become bloated due to filter
feeding, and will require microalgae to feed on shortly thereafter.
Since the growing operation used in this project is considered to be on a very small
scale, it was determined that growing our own algae cultures for feeding the clams
would be an unnecessary task. Instead, a 500 mL bottle of cyro-preserved algae
paste was purchased to be used as clam food. The specific type purchased was
an all-natural paste with an approximate concentration of 60 billion cells/mL. The

paste was to be kept in a freezer, and diluted into a small sample of seawater
before it was dropped into the aquarium. The feeding rate currently used in this
project is to monitor the light brown/yellowish tint given off by the paste, and when
the water is completely clear it is time to add more microalgae. A more specific
procedure is being developed as we learn more, in hopes of being automated in the
future.
The majority of the 1000 clams had died approximately a month after receiving our
first batch. The most probable cause of death was the rising salinity levels due to
evaporation. As saltwater evaporates only the water evaporates and the salt
remains. Over time the water would evaporate leaving a higher concentration of
salt in the water which isnt healthy for the clams. Other factors that may have
caused the clams to die, but werent confirmed were over/under feeding, tank
overpopulation, and/or dissolved oxygen levels. Although our clams did not survive
for a long period of time they were able to survive, even under flawed conditions.
Therefore we determined that because the clams were able to survive for a short
amount of time, our hypothesis was plausible. In order to try and confirm the
original hypothesis we redesigned our experiment to eliminate factors that may
cause clam death.
For our second experiment we decided to split up the new batch of clams into
different groups. In order to do so our experiment required multiple tanks. Instead
of using the original 10 gallon fish tank we decided to use 6-two liter Tupperware
containers.
The new design required tanks that significantly decreased the rising rate of salinity
due to evaporation. The rate at which water evaporates can be expressed as:

Where
= mass rate of evaporated water (kg/s)
= (25+19v) where v = velocity of air above the waters surface (kg/m 2h)
A = surface area (m2)
Xs = humidity ratio in saturated air (kg H2O/kg dry air)
X = humidity ratio in the air (kg H2O/kg dry air)
This equation shows that the surface area of the exposed water is directly
proportional to the mass rate of evaporating water. Therefore in order to reduce the

exposed area we decided to use the lids that came with the Tupperware containers.
We observed that this greatly decreased the amount of evaporation allowing us to
cut back on the time spent maintaining a 3.5% salinity level. To ensure that air
could flow to the aerators we cut holes that snuggly fit the aerator tubing as shown
in EXHIBIT BOOBCAKES. Each container contained 1 liter of salt water and each
contained its own aerator to ensure each tank maintained rich levels of dissolved
oxygen. Five of the 6 containers contained sand.
The experiment was designed to test how population and feeding size had on their
growth as well as their overall survival. Each container was labeled 1-6. One
hundred clams were divided evenly and added to containers 1-4. These containers
were designated as the low density groups. Containers 1 and 2 were the two
groups that would be feed extra; containers 3 and 4 would be fed half of what
containers 1 and 2 receive. Containers 5 and 6 each housed over 100 clams and
were designated as our high density groups. Group 5 was the container that did not
contain sand out of the other 6.
The size distribution of our clams was normal as seen by Figure 1. The average
clam length was 16.3 mm with a standard deviation of 2.08 mm indicating that 95%
of the clams are within +/-4.16 mm of the average. The largest clam was 12.39 mm
and the largest clam was 21.3 mm; range of 8.91mm.

Figure 1 represents the frequency size distribution of our clams based on average
length. The average clam length was 16.3 mm with a standard deviation of 2.08
mm indicating that 95% of the clams are within +/-4.16 mm of the average.

To assess how the different groups living conditions had on growth we measured the
individual lengths using highly accurate calipers, the total group mass using a
hundredths gram scale, and their survival rate by keeping count of the number of
survivors each time we took measurements. Measurements were taken on days 0,
3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 15.
Based on the data in Tables 1 and 2, the clams in the low density/low fed group had
a higher survival rate because they were able to live longer in greater numbers than
the low density/high fed group.

Table 1 shows the data for the low-fed containers. The clams survived 15 days.
Their average length and mass peaked at day 12.

Table 2 shows the data for the high-fed containers. The clams survived 12 days.
Their average length and mass peaked on day 7.

The survival rate from Tables 1 and 2, was entered into excel and shown in Figures 1
and 2. Then an exponential trendlines were inserted to provide a model equation
for the survival rate.

The survival rate for the low-fed is

survival rate for the high-fed group is

rules:
When

Then base e logarithm of t is

Therefore in this case,

and the

. According to the natural log

Figure 2 shows the survival rate for the low fed group. A trendline equation was
fitted using Excel . The survival rate equation is N(t) = e^-0.12t with a Rsquared value of .93.

Figure 3 shows the survival rate for the low fed group. A trendline equation was
fitted using Excel . The survival rate equation is N(t) = e^-0.205t with a Rsquared value of .92

Based on mean length and mass, both groups peaked after one week. After the first
week was over, the low fed group maintained a constant mean length and mass for
about 5 days; the high fed groups mean length and mass immediately began to
decrease after the first week. These characteristics are modeled using the data from
Tables 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows the growth in length over time for the high fed group.

The average length for the high fed group on day 0 was at a relative minimum of
16.57 mm. The average length peaked on day 7 at 17.15 mm, showing a growth of
3.5%. On day 7, 28% of the clam population for the high fed group remained. On
day 12, 6% of the clams remained with an average length at a absolute minimum of
14.56 mm, a 15.1% decrease.
This indicates, according to our initial size
distribution that the few clams remaining on day 12 were the smallest of the group.

Figure 5 shows the growth in mass over time of the high fed group.

The average mass for the high fed group on day 0 was at a relative minimum 0.592
grams. The average mass peaked on day 7 at 0.754, a 27.4% increase in growth.
On day 7, 28% of the clam population for the high fed group remained. On day 12,
6% of the clams remained with an average mass at an absolute minimum of 0.453
grams, a 40% decrease in growth. This indicates, according to our initial size
distribution that the few clams remaining on day 12 were the smallest of the group.

Figure 6 shows the growth in length over time for the low fed group.

The average length for the low-fed group on day 0 was at a relative minimum of
16.02 mm. The average length peaked on day 12 at 17.05 mm, showing a growth
of 6.4%. On day 12, 26% of the clam population for the high fed group remained.
On day 15, 12% of the clams remained with an average length at an absolute
minimum of 16.07 mm, a 5.7% decrease. This indicates, according to our initial size
distribution that the few clams remaining on day 15 were the smallest of the group.

Figure 7 shows the growth in mass over time for the low fed group.

The average mass for the low-fed group on day 0 was at an absolute minimum of
0.561 grams. The average mass peaked on day 12 at 0.742 grams, showing a
growth of 32.3%. On day 12, 26% of the clam population for the high fed group
remained. On day 15, 12% of the clams remained with an average mass at an
relative minimum of 0.617 grams, a 16.8% decrease. This indicates, according to
our initial size distribution that the few clams remaining on day 15 were the
smallest of the group.
The results we received in our second experimental set up can be noted to be less
descriptive of clam growth towards the later days. This can be attributed to the
small sample size in each one of our experimental containers, the slight variation in
starting clam size, and the short amount of time we had to study growth relative to
the extremely long growing periods of these clams. Also when larger clams died
their contributions to the average mass and length were removed from the data,
which is a big reason why both average mass and length decrease in the final days
of the experiment.
Some other observations we noted during this experiment that could be considered
interesting are that, some clams survived in the refrigerator for about 60 days
before actually being planted into an aquarium where they then thrived. Also,
following the conclusion of our experiment, a handful of clams still remained alive
and healthy without being fed for several weeks.

Business Plan
The business plan developed by this thesis project was to develop a process by which softshell
clams could be produced in artificial environments, specifically in a manufacturing setting. The
plan is to have large batches of clams planted so that they will reach market size at about the
time of year that demand peaks during the summer. The batches will have to match the
extremely high demand experienced during Memorial Day, 4th of July, as well as Labor Day. A
big aspect of this plan is to use all organic materials in the production of these clams to ensure
the best tasting and nutritional value possible. Producing these clams in a pollution free setting
will ensure higher level of safety to consumers, as well as less risk to potential vendors of these
clams.
Contracts or verbal agreements with wholesale distributors will establish a steady stream of
revenue once production begins. This will also help tremendously in forecasting levels of
production to maximize profits and effectiveness. Ultimately the goal is for wholesalers to
account for an extreme percentage of production, which will result in production levels to keep
increasing as time goes on and the inland markets develop.
The development of an easy to use online website for consumers to order these fresh clams
straight to their door via 2 day, or overnight shipping, will result in consumers anywhere in the
country having access to these clams at a cheaper rate than currently available. The difference
between prices of competitors and our prices can be attributed to the manufacturing process
rather than individual clam diggers, as well as the reliability of the process, and our
specialization in just this one type of clam. This website will enable us to exploit those
undeveloped markets talked about earlier, as well as receive a high profit margin on smaller
quantities of clams.
Some of the obstacles that need to be conquered before this plan can exist is to develop a large
scale automated feeding and water monitoring system. The development of in-house algal
farms for use as clam feed. As well as the in-house production of seed clams, this can be
achieved by perfecting the netting method. The largest obstacle to the business plan is to
overcome the long pay-back period due to the nature of these clams.
Soft shell clams take approximately 2 years to reach market size. This means that our facility
will have to be invested in for over 2 years to continue the growth of the first batch, as well as
continue planting following batches before a single dollar will be made. But after years of
steady production, we are confident this could be an extremely profitable plan.

Bibliography

Baker, Patrick K., and Rogger Mann. "Soft Shell Clam." (n.d.): n. pag. Maryland
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Acknowledgements
Gekwu and beal