The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is hosting a series of free recreational clamming workshops this summer. The workshops, led by DEM’s Aquatic Resource Education (ARE) program, are opportunities for participants to learn how to dig for clams and the management strategies that have kept Rhode Island in the clamming industry for so long.
Along with coffee milk, what’s more Rhode Island than clamming?
The following public workshops are scheduled:
Saturday, June 16 | 3 PM – 6 PM
Colt State Park, Bristol
Thursday, July 12| 12 PM – 3 PM
Rocky Point State Park, Warwick
Friday, August 10| 11 AM – 2 PM
Colt State Park, Bristol
Tuesday, August 14 |3 PM – 6 PM
North Kingstown Town Beach, North Kingstown
Monday, August 27 | 1 PM – 4 PM
Rocky Point State Park, Warwick
Saturday, September 8 | 11 AM – 2 PM
Rocky Point State Park, Warwick
The workshops are perfect for families to spend time together. DEM encourages people of all ages to participate. Space is limited and registration is required. To register, contact Kimberly Sullivan at Kimberly.sullivan@dem.ri.gov.
All equipment and materials will be provided. DEM’s ARE program sponsors the Come Clam With Me workshops and a host of recreational fishing opportunities for the public as well as marine science programming for educators.
“DEM’s clamming workshops are some of our most popular offerings to the public and once again we will be holding them in the East Bay, West Bay, and South County to make them as accessible as we can,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “Historically and culturally important, a staple of local food traditions, clamming brings families and friends together. That’s first and foremost. These workshops also remind us, however, that Rhode Island’s monumental, decades-long efforts to clean Narragansett Bay are paying off.”
More than 22 million quahogs with an off-the-boat value of $5 million were harvested from Narragansett Bay and local coastal waters 2017. In recognition of the economic and cultural value of shellfish, Governor Gina M. Raimondo, along with many partners, launched the Rhode Island Shellfish Initiative in 2017. Through it, state agencies, industry, academia, and community partners collaborate and compound their efforts to sustainably manage local shellfish stock, promote economic growth and jobs, and celebrate Rhode Island’s unique food cultures.
