LCMM has just been awarded a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to assist with the eradication of Asian clams in Lake George. The project is a partnership between LCMM, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute, and the FUND for Lake George.
This dime-sized newcomer to Lake George has the potential, if unchecked, to cloud the legendary clear lake waters by feeding algae blooms with nutrients that this clam excretes. For example, the Asian clam was found in Lake Tahoe in 2002 and now has reached a population there averaging over 2,000 per square meter, significantly changing that lake’s water quality.
LCMM will spread out acres of benthic mats in Lake George early in the spring while the water is cold. These mats will smother the species before they begin spawning, and hopefully eradicate them while their numbers are still small.
The Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) is native to South East Asia, and was first documented on the west coast of the United States in 1938. It is an extremely hardy freshwater bivalve that is hermaphroditic and therefore capable of self-fertilization.
Download the Asian Clam Fact Sheet produced by the FUND for Lake George.