Chowders Crowd Lake

The East Hampton Town Trustees agreed Tuesday to allow commercial clam diggers to harvest an additional 200 chowder clams a day from Lake Montauk beyond their regular three-bushel-per-day limit on clams of "littleneck," "cherrystone," and "chowder" sizes.

The special season, created as an amendment to the town shellfishing laws, begins today and will stay in effect for two weeks with the possibility of being extended. It will pertain to Lake Montauk only.

The decision was made via a resolution proffered by Joe Bloecker, the only Trustee from Montauk. Mr. Bloecker said he had been approached by several baymen who routinely work Lake Montauk, all of whom attended a Tuesday night work session at the Trustees' offices on Bluff Road, Amagansett.

Crowding The Young

John Beckwith, one of the baymen, told the Trustees about a bountiful, but old, set of clams in the lake. There were so many chowders (larger ones) that the smaller, and more valuable, cherrystones and littlenecks beneath them were dying off.

Mr. Beckwith said he had dug clams in the Great South Bay for years and that culling old chowders to improve the grounds for younger clams was a traditional practice.

Larry Penny, director of the town's Natural Resources Department, was at the meeting and agreed with the baymen's theory. "It's true the big ones and little ones compete for food," he said.

Before agreeing, the Trustees questioned whether taking so many chowders might stunt the reproductive potential of the clam resource in the lake. The baymen replied that with the proposed 200-a-day limit, they could hardly dent the chowder population. Mr. Penny added that old chowders were not the only, or even the most productive, source of spawn.

Sole Dissenter

The Trustees and baymen agreed that the town might purchase some of the chowder clams to plant elsewhere in town waters. Mr. Penny also requested a sampling to study. Much of the rest of the chowder harvest will be sold to seafood markets and restaurants that have taken to shucking and freezing the meats in anticipation of clam chowder season.

Harold Bennett was the only dissenting member of the seven Trustees present. "The Lord put those chowders out there for a reason," he said.

The baymen agreed to land their clams at the West Lake Drive launching ramp to be inspected by a harbormaster or Bay Constable. In approving the special chowder season, the Trustees fell back on the "Special Authority" section of the town's shellfish regulations.

Other Instances

It has been used many times before. For three years beginning in 1994, the Trustees permitted special soft clam seasons. Last year baymen were permitted to sell oysters in summer by means of the special authority clause.

Fishermen were given permission to harvest blue claw crabs and lobsters from waters closed to clamming and other shellfishing. The Trustees argued that the crustaceans were cooked before they were eaten, thus the health hazard associated with raw shellfish did not exist.

Using their special authority, the Trustees have also pushed back the scallop season in town waters in order to put a limited number of scallops to the best market advantage.