digging a geoduck
fresh meat ready to use
ge·o·duck (goo-e-duk), n.
a very large edible clam, Panope generosa, of the NW coast of the U.S.
Also called gweduc.
Geoduck (Panopea abrupta)
The most impressive clam in the Pacific Northwest is the geoduck (Panopea abrupta). The world's largest burrowing clam, the geoduck reaches an average size of 1.9 pounds (including the shell) in subtidal waters of Puget Sound. Geoducks weighing over seven pounds have been dug and verified by WDFW biologists, and much larger specimens have been reported by harvesters. Geoducks grow rapidly, generally reaching 1.5 pounds in three to five years. They attain their maximum size by about 15 years, and can live at least as long as 168 years. They are extremely abundant in the inland waters of Puget Sound, British Columbia and Alaska, where the subtidal populations support important commercial fisheries. Their range extends from Alaska to Baja California, but they are rarely found along the Pacific coast, and populations are likewise scarce west of Clallam Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Geoduck clams are found buried two to three feet deep in mud, sand, or gravel. The gaping, oblong shell is white with concentric rings, and generally has thin patches of flaky brown covering (periostracum) at the edges. The siphon and mantle are so large that they cannot be withdrawn into the shell.
Geoducks have been observed with underwater video cameras living as deep as 360 feet in Puget Sound, and the vast majority of the population is subtidal. They are not nearly as abundant intertidally, and sport diggers generally find them on beaches only at extreme low tides (lower than -2.0 feet). For this reason, most of the sport digging is restricted to less than 20 tides a year.
The clam's name, pronounced "gooey-duck" is of Native American origin and means "dig deep." It is variously spelled goeduck, goiduck, or gweduck.
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