October 13, 2013 — The resumption of clamming after 23 years on a once-toxic site off the New England coast should send a message to both the local fishing industry and the federal agencies that oversee it: By working together to find solutions, rather than engaging in endless conflict, fishermen and regulators can give new hope to the local seafood industry.
The small section of Georges Bank was closed to surf clam and quahog shellfishing in 1990 because of toxic algae blooms, leaving untold millions of dollars of seafood on the ocean floor. But a five-year trial in which clammers used a safety testing kit developed by the Food and Drug Administration showed that the area could be safely harvested.
Read the full editorial at the Boston Globe