On October 17th, Sarah and I headed off to Nanoose Bay to collect data for the Nanoose Clam Harvesting project. The aim of this project is to understand how recreational and commercial clam harvesting has impacted the project area in Nanoose Bay. The project is a collaboration between the Nanoose Bay Economic Development Corporation and MABRRI.
We were the only ones at the beach when we arrived at 11:30am, an hour before the 12:31pm low tide. Typically, people come out to the beach to harvest clams during low tides. Soon enough we were joined by several recreational harvesters, equipped with buckets and garden gloves and tools to dig for clams.
Our tasks were to collect observations on the number of people coming to the beach to dig for clams and estimate the amount of clams harvested while we were there. The field data collection first started in late August and since then we’ve gotten many funny looks as more often than not, we’re the only ones on the beach not digging for clams!
As the fall low tides occur more often in the middle of the night and with the onset of stormy weather we’ve started to see less and less people coming to the beach. We were fortunate that the weather held that day while we completed our observations and were able to take in the view of Nanoose Bay. I find it’s always fun to be out in the field, rain or shine, especially in such a beautiful part of the MABR. I’m so thankful to be a part of this project!