There’s a new ‘clam’ in town!

Agroup of innovative scientists from the University of Cambridge in the UK have developed a prototype system of farming shipworms and rebranding them as nutritious seafood. The group have renamed them ‘naked clams’. The report, published in

Sustainable Agriculture, shows the researchers’ findings of vitamin B12 in the clams, which is more than the amount found in mussels.

These shipworms are long and white clams that can grow to 30cm in just six months. They do this by burrowing into waste wood and this converts the clams into a highly nutritious protein.

Author of the paper and part of the research team Dr David Willow said the team developed a controlled aquaculture system. They eliminated water quality and food safety concerns associated with mussel and oyster farming with the fully enclosed system.

“Naked clam aquaculture has never been attempted before. We’re growing them using wood that would otherwise go to landfill or be recycled, to produce food that’s high in protein and essential nutrients like vitamin B12,” he said.

The name naked clams comes from the fact that these creatures have no shell but are classified as bivalve shellfish. According to senior author of the report Dr Reuben Shipway, the urgent need for alternative food sources is what led to their research. “Switching from eating beef burgers to naked clam nuggets may well become a fantastic way to reduce your carbon footprint,” he said.

Willow described the clams as tasting like oysters and said they could be a “white meat” substitute. –