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• A geoduck (Panopea abrupta), pronounced gooey-duck, is a large salt-water clam that burrows deep under coastal tidelands of the Pacific northwest, particularly Puget Sound. Considered a delicacy in Asian cuisines, geoducks are a lucrative local industry, and they are controlled by governmental offices to maintain an ecologically sound community.

  Recent harvests by the Taylor Shellfish Farms, in Pierce County, Washington State have come under fire from the Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat and the Case Inlet Beach Association, because of a licensing dispute.News Tribune: Geoduck harvest back on again in Pierce County (August 28, 2008)

• The Geoduck on the boobtube!

  The Geoduck has been gaining an audience over the last few years. Recently, an Episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations visited Puget Sound where they went hunting for Geoduck.

  You can read about it here - http://www.seattlepi.com/food/273767_bourdain14.html

• Fast Facts

  1. Adult weight: Up to 1.9 poundsWashington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Geoduck (Panopea abrupta)
  2. Lifespan: Reaches adulthood in 5-10 yearsWashington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Geoduck (Panopea abrupta)
  3. Oldest recorded geoduck: 168 yearsWashington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Geoduck (Panopea abrupta)
  4. Origins of name: Anglicized version of Native American gweduc, "dig deep"Post Intelligencer: Geoducks: Catching the burrowing clams ... (July 14, 2005)
  5. Habitat: Burrows to 360 feet deep as juveniles and never move again <ref name="pi">Post Intelligencer: Geoducks: Catching the burrowing clams ... (July 14, 2005)
  6. Harvest season: During a minus two feet tidePost Intelligencer: Geoducks: Catching the burrowing clams ... (July 14, 2005)

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Carpaccio | Clams | Mussels | Marine Biology | Ecology | Washington State

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