From Northeastern Global News · October 16, 2026
Northeastern University researchers, graduate students and local shellfishers are testing why soft-shell clams have declined in the Plum Island Ecosystem, a group of rivers, marshes and barrier beach on Massachusetts' North Shore. The article reports that New England commercial landings of the clam have dropped sharply, citing NOAA Fisheries data. Shellfishers suggested two explanations: warming water and changed water chemistry may be hurting reproduction, or the invasive European green crab may be eating young clams. To tell the two apart, the team set out "Beal boxes" on a Parker River mudflat. These are small wooden boxes with a mesh top, which the researchers say lets clam larvae in and keeps most predators out. After about six months, the team retrieved the boxes and compared them with plain mud from the flat. Graduate student Grace Abe said they found more young clams in the boxes than on the open flat. In her words, that suggests larvae are settling but are not surviving outside the boxes.
The study site is in the Plum Island Ecosystem, on the North Shore. The article names warming water and green crabs as the two suspects behind the clam decline there, so the question the team is testing may carry over to the Bay's shellfish. CPWB has heard anecdotal accounts of a similar decline in clams in Waquoit Bay. These are CPWB's own informal reports, and CPWB is not aware of any published data that confirms a decline here. The article gives early results from the boxes on one Parker River flat. Abe said mesh cannot cover a whole mudflat, and she suggested the boxes might instead shelter young clams through the winter until they are big enough to harvest. The article also notes that clams filter water as they feed, which ties their health to water quality. It describes shellfishers working with scientists to test a cause before choosing a remedy.
This is CPWB’s summary of a news article. The full article and its photos are published by Northeastern Global News.
Drafted with AI assistance from the linked source.
