The northeaster that dumped more than three inches of rain on East Hampton Town last weekend forced postponement of the town trustees’ annual Largest Clam Contest, which was to happen on Sunday at the Amagansett Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station Museum.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, citing “the extremely heavy rainfall and extraordinary amounts of stormwater runoff” associated with the rain that started on Friday and continued through Tuesday, temporarily closed Three Mile Harbor, Hog Creek, Accabonac Harbor, Napeague Harbor, and Lake Montauk, including their tributaries, to the harvesting of shellfish.
When they met on Monday, the trustees decided to move the contest to Oct. 10, a Saturday, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station, where it has been held for the last several years.
The waterways are unlikely to reopen before today, John Aldred, a deputy clerk of the trustees, told his colleagues on Monday, while weather and tides will be favorable for clamming next week.
Since 1990, the trustees, who oversee many of the town’s beaches, bottomlands, and waterways on behalf of the public, have held this family-friendly event to celebrate the Bonac tradition of clamming. Clams on the half shell, clam chowder and clam pie tastings, a live marine animal exhibit hosted by the town’s shellfish hatchery, and live music are among the offerings at the free event, along with trustee merchandise, with proceeds benefiting the trustee scholarship fund. The East End Classic Boat Society will sell tickets for its 2026 raffle boat, and the museum will be open for tours.
From Saturday through Friday, Oct. 9, residents with a valid town shellfishing license can harvest hard clams to enter in the contest. The entry fee is $5, and contestants are limited to entering one clam.
Clams must come from certified waters of Accabonac Harbor, Three Mile Harbor, Napeague Harbor, Hog Creek, or Lake Montauk. Shellfishing licenses are issued to residents ages 12 and older, and these license holders compete in the adult contest. A prize basket will be awarded for each waterway, and for the largest clam over all.
Parents or guardians may enter one clam for each child ages 4 to 11 in the junior category; the entry tag must show the child’s name, age, and “Junior,” plus the parent or guardian’s shellfish license number and telephone number. A prize basket will be awarded for each waterway in the junior category, but there is no overall winner prize.
With the contest postponed, entries can now be taken to the trustees’ office at the Lamb Building on Bluff Road in Amagansett next Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and noon, and on Friday, Oct. 9, between 3 and 5 p.m., or to the Life-Saving and Coast Guard Station Museum on Oct. 10 between 9 and 10 a.m. Contestants will receive a red mesh bag and should put their entry and the $5 fee inside it, tie it closed, and staple a completed tag with their name, phone number, shellfish license number, date of harvest, and harvest harbor name.
A panel of judges — Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker and Stuart Heath, a fisherman and clam-shucking legend — will select the winner at the public judging on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The Largest Clam Contest also includes a clam chowder competition. Those planning to participate have been asked to take their entry in a 32-ounce container to the event no later than noon on Oct. 10. It must already be heated as the container will go into a water bath to be kept warm until judging. Entries will be assigned a number, and the contest will be blind to the judges. Entries will be judged on appearance, body, balance of ingredients, and depth of flavor.
There will be two categories in the chowder competition, red (Manhattan-like) and white (New England-like). One winner will be chosen from each category.
