LAMOINE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Clam prices are skyrocketing, as supply levels continue to dwindle. Many clam diggers are cashing in on this spike because consumers want clams and they're paying the higher prices. High demand for clams and short supply is meaning higher prices at restaurants and grocery stores and bigger paychecks for some of Maine's clam diggers.
On a good day, digging for clams is back breaking work. Clams are hand-picked out of the thick, dark mud from clam flats all along the Maine coast. Clam diggers like 68-year-old James Norris said it's important to ride the waves.
"If the price wasn't up there they couldn't be doing it. That's what is keeping the business going the high price. You don't have to dig a lot of clams at the moment, but that's going to change in a couple of weeks when the prices start going to go down," said Norris.
Norris of Lamoine said he has been digging for clams since he was knee high. Right now, he's getting about four dollars a pound wholesale, that's more than double last year at this time. Clam diggers, including Norris are worried about the lack of supply of clams. The biggest danger is the "green crab" - an invasive species that has taken root in Maine and feeds on clams.
