The Largest Clam Contest

The 33rd Annual Largest Clam Contest will held on September 29, 2024. The digging window will open Sept. 21st and conclude on Sept. 28th. Contest rules may be found below.

Every year since it’s origin in 1990, the East Hampton Town Trustees host The Largest Clam Contest. The contest is a community event which is celebrates the Bonac tradition of clamming. Bonac is a nickname given to the local area and the original settling families have historically been known as Bonackers. Though today the term often refers to anyone born and raised in the area. The term Bonac is derived from Accabonac Harbor, one of the most iconic waterbodies in the town. Accabonac Harbor was, quite appropriately, named from an Algonquin word meaning “root place.”(1) Bonackers traditionally lived off the land and sea, making a living as baymen, farmers and fishermen. The largest clam contest pays homage to this tradition.

The contest is open to any town resident who holds a Town of East Hampton shell fishing license. Each year the community gathers on a Sunday afternoon in September to witness the weighing and measuring of the Hard Clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, also known as the Northern Quahog in some areas. Hard Clams are are found in our local mid-intertidal zone sands and muds. The Trustees establish a week long digging window where contestants may search for their treasured clam. Once a contestant finds their clam, they bring it to a local seafood shop for safe keeping ahead of the event. The day of the contest, Trustees and other judges weigh and measure each clam until the largest is crowned. The contest has traditionally been held on the lawn in front of the Trustee office building on Bluff Rd. However, the contest has grown over the last several years and will be held at the Amagansett Lifesaving Station this year.

Prizes are offered to the individual who harvested the largest overall clam as well as the largest clam harvested in each of the Trustee harbors and one in Montauk. The eligible harbors include: Accabonac Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, Hog Creek, Napeague Harbor and Lake Montauk. There are both adult and youth categories for each harbor.

The event also features live music, clam chowder tastings, clam pie tastings, BBQ, a Live Marine animal exhibit, Trustee merchandise whose proceeds benefit the Trustee scholarship fund, a boat for raffle made by the East End Classic Boat Society, tours given by the Amagansett Lifesaving Station and more! Bring the family and come out to join the fun.

Clam Contest Rules & How to Enter

1. Contest is open to town residents who hold a valid Town of East Hampton Shellfish License.   Parents may enter clams for their children between the ages of 4 and 14. Parents/Guardians must write their name, phone number and child’s age on the entry form.
2. Contest will be held on Sunday, September 29, 2024 at 12:00 pm.
3. Only Hard Clams, Mercenaria mercenaria are eligible to be entered.
4. All clams must be caught in CERTIFIED waters within the Town of East Hampton. The Harbor must be indicated on your entry form.
5. Contestants must comply with all shell fishing regulations.
6. A maximum of One Clam per contestant may be entered.
7. Competing entries must be brought to one of the following places prior to 4 pm on Saturday, Sept. 28th:
   • Amagansett Seafood Store
   • Stuart’s Fish Market
   • The Seafood Shop
   • Montauk Seafood Company
8. All Entries must be placed in one of the red mesh bags provided. Tie the bag and attach your filled out shellfish tag to the bag. Write your NAME, PHONE NUMBER, SHELLFISH LICENSE NUMBER, DATE OF HARVEST & HARBOR WHERE IT WAS HARVESTED on the tag.. Staple the tag to the bag. Write JUNIOR if is a child’s entry.
9. There is a $1 entry fee per clam. Place entry fee in your red bag.
10. A panel of judges will choose the winners of the contest at the public judging on September 29th at the Amagansett Lifesaving Station, located at 160 Atlantic Ave in Amagansett, NY 11930.

Download a copy of the Clam Contest Rules HERE

Clam Chowder Contest

In addition to the Largest Clam Contest, the Trustees will simultaneously hold a Clam Chowder contest. In years past, the chowder contest has judged both red and white clam chowders. Stay Tuned for more details about this year’s contest.

Chowder Contest Rules

1. Bring a 32 oz. container of your clam chowder to the event site no later than 11:30 a.m. It must already be heated as the container will go into a water bath to kept warm until judging.
2. At the chowder contest tent see the Trustee/Staff to enter your name and phone number into the entry log. You will be assigned a number.
3. The contest is a blind to the judges.
4. Chowders are scored on a scale of 1-10 for Appearance, Body, Balance of Ingredients & Depth of Flavor.
5. There will be two categories to compete in: Red (Manhatten-like) Chowder & White (New England-like) Chowder. There will be ONE winner from EACH category.
6. Chowders are tasted by a panel of THREE JUDGES and your score is a cumulative score of all judges.
7. The Chowder with the highest Cumulative Score wins.

We hope you and your family will join us this year!

1. Mead, Julia C. (September 22, 2022). “In East Hampton, the way of a “Lost Tribe.‘ ” New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2024.