Lee Theberge had looked out of his house on Long Cove the night before the Harpswell Marine Resources Committee’s annual landowner appreciation event. He saw nothing out of the ordinary — clam diggers were out front on the mud flats, collecting their daily harvest.
The same clams he had watched them harvest now sat on the table before him at the Orr’s Island Schoolhouse.
“The trouble with eating clams is they get stuck in your teeth,” Theberge said. “I’m going to be chewing clams for the next few days.”
Theberge allows clam diggers to use his land to access the flats. That courtesy is less common these days, when shellfish harvesters’ access to the shore is dwindling by the year.
Reversing this trend is the purpose of the landowner appreciation event. The Aug. 25 event included a spread of clam chowder, quahog chowder, steamed clams and more to thank landowners for access and give them a chance to meet harvesters.
David Wilson, a harvester and chair of the Marine Resources Committee, came up with the idea for the event in 2016 as a way to preserve access. The event stopped for a few years, but returned in 2022 and has occurred annually since.
“This was an act of desperation,” Wilson said about the first event in 2016. “It’s just a simple form of gratitude from the harvesters to the landowners.”
When Wilson started digging 30 years ago, he said, he could reach the flats from numerous locations. Now, there are far fewer options for harvesters to reach the shore.
Access points often disappear when a property sells to a new owner, Wilson said, and the new owner will not allow harvesters to cross the land. He said newcomers may not realize they are moving into a fishing community.
Margie Emerson, an attendee at the event, said harvesters “should always have access, especially the ones that are earning their living.”
That’s exactly what commercial diggers are doing. Bryttanie Tuck, a harvester, said the danger of losing access is that she can’t feed her children.
The event was also an opportunity for harvesters to meet landowners and talk through any concerns.
Kali Albert, a harvester, said there is “mutual respect” between the clam diggers and the landowners who provide access.
“People that live in the neighborhood … they kind of need to know what we’re doing, our lifestyle,” Albert said. “The appreciation goes both ways.”
Dorothy Boyce, another harvester, said there is a stereotype that clam diggers leave garbage in people’s yards. However, every clam digger she knows keeps their stuff picked up.
Theberge and Steve Johnson, another attendee, agreed that they would never know harvesters had been on their land.
“Unfortunately, you’re always going to have a bad apple. That’s what keeps the stereotype strong,” Wilson said. “This gives people a chance to meet harvesters and educate.”
Every year, the event helps harvesters gain access, Wilson said. He hopes to continue the trend this year and in the coming years.
“Access is crucial to us,” Wilson said. “It’s just as important as the resource we have to harvest.”
