The salaries of Clam Diggers in the US range from $18,760 to $46,390, with a median salary of $27,340. The middle 50% makes $27,340, with the top 75% making $46,390.
Exactly how much business owners make depends on the clams’ abundance. A youth pulling a stainless-steel rake for eight hours can pocket $500 on a good day. At that rate, working 40 hours a week, a person could make $10,000 a month.
Clamming Techniques
Clamming is harvesting clams from tidal sand or mud flats where they live. The main techniques are:
- Treading
- Raking
- Shinicocking
- Digging
Profitability of Clamming
The market determines the wholesale price of clams. Most clams sell for roughly $2.25 per pound, although littlenecks may fetch more. Owners of small businesses may earn between $100 and $200 each half-day of labor.
Clam Harvesting
Hard clams can be harvested by lifting the mesh bags they were grown in off the bottom or they can be raked out of the sediment.
An average digger may harvest 40 or more pounds a day, for perhaps three hours of work. At $2 a pound, seasoned diggers may get 100 pounds in a day and earn $200 or $300 during the summer.
Permit Information
In Maine towns regulate shellfish harvesting. You can get a free recreational clamming permit from the town you want to dig in. They will tell you where you can or can’t dig.