Photo 1. Geoduck Show Plot
On March 17th the Squaxin Island shellfish department began installation of a sub-tidal geoduck “show-plot” near the North end of Hartstene Island
(photo 1). This is useful in sub-tidal geoduck biomass surveys as it allows us to properly calibrate our surveys to local variations and account for temporal variability in show factors. These show plots are used to determine the number of geoduck that are actually present in a given area but that remain unseen or do not “show” (see photo 2).
Photo 2. Individual Geoduck "shows" marked with white stakes.
Divers mark individual geoduck shows over time to determine the number of total geoducks in a defined area (photo 3). Once this number is known we can then return to count the number of showing geoducks and determine the show factor for that given day when conducting local geoduck surveys. This is just one of the many steps involved in surveying a subtidal geoduck tract.
Photo 3. Eric Sparkman Marking Individual Geoduck Shows.