E. Hampton picks Sept. 23 for clam contest

East Hampton's town trustees -- the independently elected government body responsible for town waterways -- are preparing for their annual clamming contest, a local event that has been held for two decades, but rarely on the same date.

For the past few years, it has been held in the fall, although in its 22 years the contest has taken place anywhere from midsummer to Columbus Day.

Organizing the contest takes time, and Trustee Diane McNally said the summer is too busy a time to hold the event.

The town board earlier this month approved a permit to hold the contest on Sept. 23 from noon to 3 p.m. on Bluff Road in Amagansett. But the hunting for Quahog clams starts a week earlier, in certified waters in Napeague Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, Accabonac Harbor and Lake Montauk.

Adult clammers and juniors with shellfish licenses have a week to rake those waterways for the biggest clam. Four local seafood stores have agreed to label the clams and keep them alive in plastic mesh bags in tanks of water.

The junior category was added several years ago to get youngsters to continue the practice of clamming. "We want to encourage the next generation, to teach them about the benefits of clean water," McNally said.

On the morning of the contest, a town trustee will collect all the clams, which will be taken to Amagansett and laid out on a table, after being measured for length, width and weight. The collective winner in those categories has the largest clam.

The event, which normally draws 200 to 250 people, ends happily for the clams.

"When we're all done, the clams are put back in the water so they can be harvested again next year," McNally said.