The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has bestowed a “Best Choice” designation on the Haida Gwaii razor clam fishery.
The fishery is co-managed by the Haida Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and is located in the waters off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
“These clams have been harvested for millennia, and we’re happy to see a major scientific program recognize that our approach to sustainably managing the fishery is sound,” said Haida Nation President Peter Lantin, whose Haida name is kil tlaats ‘gaa. “We have plans to see these clams much more widely available in seafood markets. This sustainable fishery serves our community with much-needed jobs and respects the environment in which they thrive.”
Razor clams are valued for their size and sweet, tender meat, with a long siphon and prominent muscular foot that ifferentiates them from the more common butter clam, according to SeaChoice, a nonprofit organization that helps promote Canadian sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Fishermen harvest the Haida Gwaii razor clams by hand, creating little bycatch or impact on the environment, SeaChoice said.
“We believe there’s a high value for Canadian and global markets to support a fishery that is positioned to be operating sustainably for generations,” SeaChoice senior research scientists Scott Wallace said.
The Haida Gwaii razor clams are now being sold online at http://haidawild.com/product/wild-pacific-razor-clams/.
