Dennis shellfish warden Alan Marcy shows some of the town’s seed clams being nurtured in upwellers along Bass River in West Dennis.

Wicked Local file photo by David Colantuono

Alan Marcy is experimenting with 100,000 tiny lives.

On Aug. 19, the Dennis shellfish warden and volunteers of all ages gathered on Chapin’s frontal beach with energy, determination—and a pencil each—to plant 20,000 soft-shell clam seeds. They have 80,000 more waiting in the town’s upwellers (shellfish incubators) at the town landing on Captain Harding Lane in West Dennis.

Using funds from the Friends of Dennis Shellfishing account, Marcy recently purchased the seed clams to replenish the shellfishing area at Chapin Beach that closed early last year due to overfishing. “It’s the first time we ever did this,” Marcy said. “Mother Nature usually does a good job on her own. When we noticed things deteriorating down there last year, we decided to shut down early to give what was left time to reproduce and grow.”

With the help of a couple of dozen volunteer CRABS (Commercial-Recreational Association for Better Shellfishing) who brought along their children and grandchildren to assist, pencils were stuck in the sand, and each baby clam was placed in a hole “foot down, neck up” to grow.

“Soft-shell clams mature fast, within two years,” Marcy said. “Once they mature, we’ll open the area back up to recreational shellfishing.”

Last week, Marcy and his CRABS put 30,000 baby oysters into Cape Cod Bay at the town’s oyster farm off Crowes Pasture in East Dennis. “They’re in suitcases [cages to keep predators away] for now,” Marcy said. “When they mature, they’ll be part of the annual Thanksgiving oyster giveaway, courtesy of the CRABS and gifts to the Friends of Dennis Shellfishing account.”

Nicole Muller can be reached at nmuller@wickedlocal.com.