Diving for Giant razor clams!

Freediving / snorkelling for big razor clams in North West Scotland. Coastal foraging at its finest! these are delicious seafood.
Squirting salt into the clams siphon holes makes them pop up. This beach holds some really big ones. I didn't take too many - its important to keep moving about so you don't damage the bed too much. This place has thousands and I took 18. This made 2 amazing dinners for me, and the same for Raul.
Razor clams are so meaty. You need 3-4 per person when they are this big.
Just steam them open with herbs and white wine, then slice up the meat. It is sweet and delicious.
The strange noises in the background are the diggers rebuilding the old slipway.

[@Alex_Anders]

Hunting for razor clams. Its fun👍

[@CoastlineFishing]

Looks so fun. Wee lad loved watching that with me 😀

[@raulbora]

Good fun! You were so giddy. Tasty indeed! Loved them. Cheers Toml

[@OurNationalAdventure]

Love how they come up so easy! Very cool!

[@powerporridge1337]

fair play to you man, "eagle eye" Tom 👍

[@7driftwood274]

Hi . great vid , thanks for showing it , lovely big clams . I have been doing it this way for years down in Devon , I dive , salt a few 2-3-4- then surface if shallow and good vis and just wait for them to emerge , dive again , grab them , salt a few more and repeat can be very efficient , they are extremely numerous in some areas , literally many acres / square miles of them !! They are my favourite seafood ( and scallops ) I usually only eat the foot done in breadcrumbs ( I call it clampi !! ) great with chips or couscous and avocado . The biggest I have had was 9" long but mostly 7-8 inches . I really hope they do not get exploited commercially by dredging so I tend to keep quiet about where I go and what I catch , although I believe in Scotland they are fished commercially , but I very rarely see them for sale or on menus down here and the price can be extortionate £££

[@tjashton]

Nice! I’m going to try Clampi! There is some commercial fishing up here but not much. Usually the beds are close to shore so it’s difficult. I’ve heard of divers using electrodes or pumps like geoduck divers use. But I’ve never seen it. Generally they are super abundant, very delicious, and almost impossible to find in the shops - as you say. Cheers!

[@chadsimms3656]

I see a lot of these and here in Newfoundland scuba diving hard to get at and no buddy don’t bother them here I think only me lol and they are tasty

[@albertoskytwins3527]

Great video mate, you got a new subscriber! :)

[@tjashton]

Thanks Alberto. Cheers mate!

[@davidwatson7665]

What are you seeing on the sea bed that indicates the location of the clams? Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@tjashton]

It’s 2 little holes that look a bit like eyes. They are golden in colour and have little spiky bits pointing inwards. Other kinds of clams have similar but you soon learn to spot the right ones.

[@cammi9948]

Let me know if you fancy a St. Andrews dive at some point!

[@FISH-OHOLIC]

Some lovely razor clams you ended up with, are you going to upload you cooking and eating them? On a side note, would you recommend any particular snorkeling set or a good web site to get them from. Thanks in advance.

[@tjashton]

I didnt film cooking this time but I have in the past on my channel - kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5u9aYuXl7WXfZI. I get most of my gear from Scubastore. The mask is Mares Viper. Ive got a soft Cressi snorkel. Fins are Leaderfins pure carbon, and suit is a 7mm open cell - currently on a Mares / Salvimar combo, but I usually use Picasso suits

[@lucasmoore987]

Bro I love ur channel KZbin’s been doing u dirty tho, u haven’t been showing up on my subscribed. Epic vid tho

[@tjashton]

Thanks mate. I don’t understand those algorithms!

[@TheTJGavin]

Thanks, any idea how far away from towns you can harvest these?

[@tjashton]

This place was very remote. But I have eaten them many times from town beaches. Some people say that’s dangerous, but I’m still alive and well.

[@TheTJGavin]

@@tjashton thank you, there’s fishing boats dropping creels locally so I’m guessing it’s fine. Is there a rule of thumb about not taking them in months with ‘r’ in them?

[@tjashton]

@@TheTJGavin. I think it’s an old rule - only eat shellfish when there’s an r in the month. It means avoid the summer months. Before refrigeration etc that was dangerous. Also oysters etc generally taste less nice in the summer. That’s my take on it ….

[@TheTJGavin]

@@tjashton thanks Tom, will give it a go! Thanks again for sharing 👍

[@threadsnknots3471]

where in the north of scotland is this ?

[@tjashton]

In Loch Ewe - north of Garloch

[@Shakespeare1623]

Need 10-20 pounds of razor clams …let me know how to order thanks

[@MrTo0kan]

Argh...I wanted to push thumbs down soo much! I've been on the same spot a couple of months ago and no clam in sight and here you are pulling these beasts out! Oh well.. just take my like Tom! On a side note, are you able to predict water clarity before you undertake a lengthy drive up North? I seem to be unlucky and have to swim in murky waters way too often. Thanks for the nice video as usual!

[@tjashton]

Thanks! They live in dense clusters. You just have to keep searching until you find the bed, and then it’s easy pickings! I come to this spot for business purposes, so I just always bring my dive gear etc. I live on the east coast where the vis is usually awful - so by comparison it’s fantastic here, even on a bad day!