A successful harvest is the outcome of good farm planning, management, and husbandry practices that begin well before the seed is ordered and extends throughout the rearing process. Harvesting methods for farmed shellfish in British Columbia range from labour-intensive hand harvesting to machines requiring a crew of several workers to operate. For animals that are grown out intertidaly, primarily clams and oysters in British Columbia, hand harvesting is still the norm, though there are on-going attempts to mechanize. Deep water culture has also proven to be a challenge for harvesting. Beach Harvesting Clams and Oysters High value intertidal shellfish aquaculture tenures are being increasingly utilized for higher value crops, mainly Manila clams.
Clams can be nursery reared in the water column in upwellers, trays or other devices.
However, they must eventually be transferred to an intertidal area where they are able to burrow into the substrate and continue growth. At harvest the clams must be dug and separated from the substrate. In France and other areas of Europe, cultivated clam beaches are accessible to machinery and mechanical clam harvesters are common. In British Columbia the development of mechanical harvesting of clams will depend upon the slope and substrate characterisitics of the beach and the possibility of land access. Many clam leases exist on small, isolated beaches with no land access.