Quahog

The Spread of QPX in Northern Hard-Shelled Clams in the U.S.

By 3blee

  • New Brunswick, Canada

    New Brunswick, Canada
    QPX caused observable mortalities in wild clams.

  • Barnegat Bay, New Jersey

    Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
    QPX found in Barnegat Bay, NJ

  • Prince Edward Island, Canada

    Prince Edward Island, Canada
    QPX found in infected clams.

  • Raritan Bay Shellfish Transplant Program begins

    Raritan Bay Shellfish Transplant Program begins
    The shellfish transplant program takes hard clams from areas uncertified for shallfishing to certified waters. These cleaner waters allow for bacterial cleansing and the clams are then sold to fish markets.

  • Chatham, Massachusetts

    Chatham, Massachusetts
    A QPX-like organism identified in diseased clams in the Mitchell River in Chatham. High clam mortality is observed for over eight months.

  • Provincetown, Massachusetts

    Provincetown, Massachusetts
    QPX strikes clam plots.

  • Duxbury, Massachusetts

    Duxbury, Massachusetts
    Significant die-off associated with a high prevalence of the QPX organism in both farm-raised and wild hard clam populations during the summer and fall.

  • Wachapreague, Virginia

    Wachapreague, Virginia
    QPX found in hard clams in Wachapreague, Virginia.

  • New York loses clam profits

    New York loses clam profits
    The total dockside value (i.e. amount of money paid to baymen) for hard clams harvested in New York is about $13.5 million in 2001.

  • Cape Cod Times refers to QPX as "Black Plague"

    Cape Cod Times refers to QPX as "Black Plague"
    The Cape Cod Times calls QPX the “Black Plague” of clams.

  • Virginia begins research

    Virginia begins research
    Virginia begins conducting surveys to determine QPX in both wild and cultured clams. There are other observed clam mortalities in Virginia.

  • Barnstable and Orleans, Massachusetts

    Barnstable and Orleans, Massachusetts
    In the winter and spring of 2001, QPX is discovered in Pleasant Bay (Orleans, MA) and Barnstable Harbor (Barnstable, MA) on Cape Cod.

  • New York loses $4-$5 million

    New York loses $4-$5 million
    The dockside value of clams affected by QPX disease outbreak is about $4-$5 million.

  • Raritan Bay, Staten Island, NY

    Raritan Bay, Staten Island, NY
    QPX was found in a population of hard clams from Raritan Bay near Staten Island, NY in the summer of 2002. These clams were being harvested as part of the Raritan Bay Shellfish Transplace Program.

  • Shellfish Transplant Program closed

    Shellfish Transplant Program closed
    Raritan Bay Shellfish Transplant Program closed to prevent spread of the QPX parasite due to its discovery in hard clams in New York waters.