

When they are harvested, the net amount of nitrate in the water is greatly reduced. The clams eat the excess algae and actually store some of this excess nitrate in their bodies.

Micro algae grow when there is extra nitrate in the water, and the increase in pollution in our modern society has led to an increase in nitrogen in our waters. In fact, the farming of geoduck clams is actually beneficial to the aquatic environment. This technique does no harm to the environment around the fishery. The farmers spray the area with high-pressure water hoses that liquefy the sediment where the clams are buried. Harvesting techniques are very interesting. The clams are harvested ever four to six years. These pipes prevent predators from reaching the young clams. Geoduck farmers employ special pipes pushed into the sediment in which to raise the clams. The geoduck industry brings in eighty million dollars annually in the US and Canada. Today the United States benefits highly from the Asian countries taste for Geoduck meat. Soy sauce and wasabi are common condiments served with Geoduck meat. Geoduck clams are usually eaten cooked but sometimes are prepared in the raw sashimi style. In fact, they often sell for as much as thirty US dollars per pound. They are highly prized in Asian cuisine today. The first fishery was built in 1970, but there was not much demand for the clam until recent years. The way a geoduck clam feeds is by siphoning plankton in, filtering out the food, and ejecting the waste. Also, geoduck clams do not do much in order to survive, so their bodies do not have much wear and tear. Only sea otters, dogfish, and starfish are strong enough to open and feed on the clams. First, geoduck clams have very few predators. In fact, this is one of the longest lifespans of any animal species in existence today! There are several reasons for this longevity. Geoduck clams live extremely long lives, on average about 146 years.

The average weight of a geoduck clam is between one and three pounds, but there have been examples found of clams that weighed as much as ten pounds! The geoduck clam is the largest burrowing clam found anywhere in the world. It’s called geoduck butter and includes the tender geoduck, shiitake mushrooms and asparagus sauteed with butter.The geoduck clam is a large species of saltwater clam that is native to the Pacific coastal regions. Shiro delivers with a broiled geoduck featured on the Belltown restaurant’s a la carte menu. You can only expect greatness from Seattle’s legendary sushi chef. The most recent version at his Capitol Hill seafood spot is served with watermelon, pea vines and cucumber – a final taste of summer – and it is divine.Īre you a purist? If so, one of these seafood institutions (with locations in Queen Anne, Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square) is where you can get beautiful slivers of raw South Puget Sound geoduck served with soy. Along with fresh clams, sea beans, lemon and shisito peppers, this pasta is worth going back for.Įthan Stowell has a reputation for serious geoduck crudo. Their geoduck crudo comes with Fresno chilies, jalapenos, scallion and yuzu soy.Įdouardo Jordan’s new Ravenna restaurant features a seafood fettucine with paper-thin shavings of crunchy geoduck as the star. The South Lake Union restaurant long known for its 20 versions of crab cakes recently added geoduck to its lunch and dinner menu. Well, we like it too, and we’re willing to go out of our way to find it (interesting geoduck factoid: Washington’s Department of Ecology estimates that more than 100 million adult geoducks live deep within the sediments of the Puget Sound region).īelow are five restaurants that feature geoduck, and their unique preparations. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, has a phallic shape, and a name that makes you giggle every time you say it.ĭid we mention that in the hands of the right chef, geoduck (pronounced ‘gooey-duck.’ See?) is unique in texture and deliciously savory? But, finding the saltwater clam can be tough, as it is believed that 90 percent of the geoduck harvested in the United States is allegedly exported to China, where it is considered a delicacy.
