Meet the fisherman

Rick Beckley

Rick began clamming with his dad at age 10, and by age 12 he was running his own boat. He has been renting, from the state, the same 15–20-acre plot of Great Bay for 50 years. His father, Rick Beckley Sr. is the pioneer and first hard-shell clam farmer on the East Coast.

The two of them have been involved in every aspect of the clam business. Rick is currently still part owner of a hatchery along with many other clam farmers.

The clam’s life begins at the hatchery and once they are of proper size, they are relocated to the clam farms. As a clam farmer, Rick scatters the clams on the bottom of the bay floor and covers them in a screen to protect them from bay life. Clams feed on the algae that grows on the screens, and

Rick uses a massive squeegee to scrape off some of the algae to give the clams ample oxygen and space to grow.

Did you know the rings on a clam shell represent their life cycle, the same as trees?

After about 2 years in the beds, little neck clams are ready for harvest. Rick rolls the screen back to “rake” and gather the clams. He shakes off the sediment they have buried themselves in and dumps them into his trusty floating bucket.

The clams are loaded on to the boat and then bagged for distribution. Rick takes pride in the fact that his clams are rarely ever sandy and are immediately ready to steam or shuck for consumption.