There were many of these purple Clam shells on the beach at low tide on the beach in Washington in the morning. My guess is they were probably eaten during the night by skates.
The two light brown siphons are just barely visible sticking out of the sand. Sometimes it is possible to see water squirting from the valves.
These two Oyster fishermen were in just one of the hundred or so boats we saw in Apalachicola Bay. These guys were out early each morning harvesting the oysters from the shallow water. They used long, rake-like tongs to scoop the shellfish off the bottom and then deposit them into the boat. I ate some fried oysters at a restaurant one evening, they were the best I've ever tasted! They melted in my mouth! :) I hope the 2010 oil spill will not adversely affect the oyster beds. They were opened early to allow the fishermen to harvest as many as possible before the oil arrives.
