Pismo Clams, Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Sciences & Sustainability in SLO CAL
With 80 miles of coastline, the influence of the ocean is felt all around SLO CAL (San Luis Obispo County). From fresh seafood served up at restaurants and markets, to wildlife viewing, to beachfront trails and even the weather patterns – you can thank the sea for that cool breeze on a hot day. That’s why the work being done to promote marine vitality is so important in SLO CAL.
Pismo Clams have become a kind of mascot for Pismo Beach. Once the calm capital of the world, Pismo Beach is still well known for its local clam chowder houses and annual clam festival. Today, visitors are greeted by clam sculptures decorated with colorful murals on their way into town.
About the Pismo Beach Clam Festival:
Celebrating nearly 80 years, the Pismo Beach Clam Festival is filled with local fun from live music to food and drink. The main event every year is the clam chowder cook-off contest where chefs enter for the title of Best Local Clam Chowder. There’s also arguably an even more prestigious award: the People’s Choice category which is voted on by festival attendees.
Pismo Clams are also important to the local environment, as they help to improve water quality, reduce coastal erosion and remove excess nutrients which help to reduce algae blooms.
Although Pismo Beach and the surrounding areas, saw stark declines in the clam population beginning around the middle of the 20th century - turning a once a flourishing fishery into limited recreational clamming until the legal-sized clams became impossible to find - this iconic and culturally important species is showing signs of a natural recovery!
“And this particular project, this Pismo Clam project, is a great story because we have this story of a natural recovery of an iconic species that had been gone for decades. And now it started to come back all on its own.” - Ben Ruttenberg, Director for the Cal Poly Center for Coastal Marine Sciences
Cal Poly University is in the ideal geographic location for training future marine scientists and environmental stewards. Located just north of the City of San Luis Obispo, the campus is mere minutes from the ocean with a marine research facility perched above the waves on a pier in Avila Beach.
The Cal Poly’s Center for Coastal Marine Sciences’ Pismo Clam Project studies the comeback of the Pismo Clam. This Project is a collaborative effort to try and understand and apply learning to encourage the continued clam comeback with the possibility of replicating and applying these findings to other marine species.
Some of Cal Poly’s Pismo Clam research includes:
Population Status Surveys
Aquaculture Potential
Community Science
Pismo Clam Poaching
This effort is an example of the importance of bringing together conservation, education and responsible harvesting to ensure that Pismo Clams are around for future generations. It also helps to build participating students into better environmental problem solvers.
Head to the water’s edge at the beach and see what’s been observed since 2020; a recovery in the number of Pismo Clams. Then help the population continue to thrive by reburying exposed clams (button up and hinge towards the ocean) or learn more about the Cal Poly Pismo Clam tagging project and be on the lookout for tagged Pismo clams on our local beaches!
You can also make a donation to support Cal Poly Pismo Clam Research by visiting this webpage.
“…people here, you know, are concerned with their neighbors and they're concerned with their environment. And I think part of it is because we have so much natural beauty so close.”
Sustainability is intertwined in the DNA of SLO CAL. Consideration for the area's natural beauty and people can be seen in the crafters, wineries, shops, breweries, experiences, hotels and wildlife research across the region.
Learn more about the Cal Poly Pismo Clam Project on their website or follow along on their Instagram for upcoming surveys.
On the Central Coast, and throughout California, public access to the shore is prioritized. And with so much natural beauty so accessible in SLO CAL, it is easy to see the importance of protecting nature. Enjoy the beaches and ocean while discovering the comeback story of the Pismo Clam.
