AP quotes Beal in articles on new clam industry rules
The Associated Press quoted Brian Beal, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, in articles about new harvest rules for Maine’s clam industry. Maine is the country’s leading producer of soft-shell clams, but the harvest has fallen in recent years — 2017 and 2018 had the lowest harvest for any two-year period in more than 60 years, the article states. The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would allow municipalities to establish their own minimum and maximum size limits for shellfish, allowing towns to protect larger clams that could still reproduce, AP reported. As coastal waters have warmed, clams have become more susceptible to predators such as green crabs and milky ribbon worms, according to Beal. “Those clams are being consumed by predators that are thanking the state of Maine for allowing them to have a meal. I want to give them to the clammers. I want people in the state of Maine to benefit from those clams,” Beal said. The Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, CapeCod.com, ABC News and The Washington Post carried the AP report. Undercurrent News also mentioned Beal’s insights on the clam industry in a related article.