Marine Marathon• Introduction to Shellfish• Scientific Investigation into Ocean Acidification• Learn how to Identify Clams• Field Trip to Collect Scientific Data• Wrap Up of What We Learned• Salish Sea Challenge
Shellfish are Mollusks
Do they have backbones?
Giant Clam
Purple-Ringed Top SnailBanana Slug
Photo Credits: www.barrierreefaustralia.com,www.divebums.com, www.tixchamy91.blog.com
Why are Shellfish Important?
They keep the water cleanThey provide habitatThey tell us about the pastThey are economically importantThey are nutritious… If…
If we keep the water clean!
Geoduck is the largest burrowing clam, can reach up to 8 pounds and live 150 years.
Manila clams were introduced to the Salish Sea from Japan
Clam larvae have a foot
Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas)Introduced from Japan
Olympia Oyster(Ostrea lurida)
Only native oyster to the Puget Sound and its
populations are threatened
Shellfish tell us about the history of people from the past:
Shellfish Middens are left over shells from people who ate shellfish and disposed of the shells in a pile.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
Shellfish also tell us about history of the land:
Hey, that’s the study of paleontology
Fossils are the remains of buried prehistoric animals like shellfish. They record the history of life from about 3.5 billion
years ago.
Photo credit: www.earthhistory.org
Native Culture
Hoe blade Fishing net weights
Shellfish are important in Native-American culture. Coast Salish people have harvested shellfish for food, used shells for tools and in ceremony for thousands of years.
Oysters are reef builders where communities of other organisms grow. This one’s in Germany
Oysters live in the intertidal zone and create oyster reefs
Shellfish are filter feeders, they
breath,eat and clean the water at
the same time!
Photo credit: PCSGA
Each shellfish can
filter 65 gallons a day!
They use their gills!
Shellfish are Nutritious and Delicious!
• High in Protein• Low in fat• Omega -3 fatty
acids• “Brain Food”• Minerals such as
iron and zinc to support healthy blood and immune system
*Some people are allergic to shellfish and should not consume any food containing even a small amount
We are what we eat!
Photo Credit: www.steamykitchen.com
Shellfish industry in the Pacific Northwest brings in an estimated $270 million each year and provides over 3,200 jobs. (NOAA 2102)
Bacteria from humans and their pets’ poop is getting into the
water…
Fecal coliform bacteria make me sick!
We can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions
1 mile driven in a car = about 1 pound of CO2
My shell is nice
and thick!