SUQUAMISH — For over 20 years, Suquamish tribal member Joshua George has dived into the emerald waters of the Salish Sea searching for an unusually phallic clam that’s coveted 1000’s of miles away.
George is a geoduck diver. Pronounced “gooey-duck,” the world’s largest burrowing clam has been harvested in tidelands by George’s Indigenous ancestors within the Pacific Northwest since earlier than Europeans arrived.
Lately it has additionally turn into a delicacy in China, with Washington state sending 90% of its geoducks there, creating a distinct segment but profitable American seafood export.
However the escalating commerce warfare between the U.S. and China is now crippling a whole trade that hand-harvests geoducks, leaving Washington state divers with out work, Seattle exporters with out enterprise and Chinese language aficionados with fewer of those prized clams.
“It’s the first time in 24 years where I don’t know when or if we’ll be going back to work or if I have to find another job or what we’re going to do,” George stated.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff-driven financial feud with China, which dates again to his first time period in workplace, swiftly resumed in February inside weeks of taking again the White Home. By April, Trump had positioned tariffs of at the very least 145% on China, which led China to retaliate with tariffs of 125% on the U.S.
High U.S. officers are set to satisfy with a high-level Chinese language delegation this weekend in Switzerland within the first main talks between the 2 nations for the reason that newest tariffs had been imposed, however it’s unclear the place these talks will lead.
Enter the geoduck, weighing about 2 kilos and so entrenched in native tradition that it’s the mascot for Evergreen State Faculty in Olympia. The meaty mollusk is finest described as candy and briny, and it’s typically sliced uncooked for crisp sashimi out west whereas China shoppers desire it chewy in stir-fries or sizzling pot soups. Pre-tariff prices had been as excessive as $100 per pound in eating places, so it’s a dish typically reserved for particular events like Chinese language New Yr, or to have a good time a enterprise gathering.
In contrast to different merchandise with long-lasting shelf life and standing stock, the commerce warfare has had an instantaneous, direct impact on the fragile geoducks, that are shipped alive the identical day of harvest.
“The whole market, everybody just had to stop,” stated Jim Boure, basic supervisor of Suquamish Seafoods, an enterprise of the Suquamish Tribe. “We started getting phone calls from buyers saying orders are canceled.”
Fewer geoducks are being harvested
The hundreds of thousands of kilos of geoducks shipped yearly to China come from two predominant sources: wild harvests on tracts of seafloor which are cut up between the Washington State Division of Pure Sources and Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes, and tideland farms. The state’s share is auctioned to personal exporters that usually rent contract divers to reap them.
As of late April, Washington state divers had solely pulled about half of the anticipated harvest from the state tracts, stated Blain Reeves, an aquatic assets division supervisor for the state’s Division of Pure Sources. Final 12 months, the state and tribes collectively harvested about 3.4 million kilos of untamed Washington geoduck on the market. The state generated $22.4 million in income for his or her half of the clams, which went towards paying for aquatic restoration initiatives domestically. The state doesn’t observe how a lot is harvested by non-public farmers.
“If only half the pounds that were contracted are harvested, then our revenue is halved,” Reeves stated.
The Suquamish operation has no orders to reap for for the time being, but it surely nonetheless should sustain with the upkeep to remain prepared for enterprise if and when China comes calling.
On a latest April day, George’s workforce made a fast journey to gather a handful of the clams for state lab testing.
“When we’re doing the job, and it’s not all this other political stuff behind the scenes and everything else, we love this,” stated George, including that diving, which takes place early within the day in order that the geoducks are on an airplane by night, has allowed him to look at his children develop up.
Fellow diver Kyle Purser stated he cherishes his underwater job, however now fears it’s being taken away.
“When you’re watching your money disappear and you’ve got families to feed and not knowing when you’re going to get your next paycheck, (it’s) very stressful,” he stated.
America’s loss is Canada’s acquire
The geoduck import market was already dealing with weaker demand in recent times because of the Chinese language financial system’s battle to regain post-pandemic momentum. Whereas the tariffs have solely exacerbated troubles for geoduck sellers in Washington, there’s additionally been an unintended consequence: The American commerce warfare has inadvertently boosted the Canadian geoduck enterprise, which is dealing with a mere 25% tariff from China compared to the 125% for the U.S.
Washington state within the U.S. and Canada’s British Columbia province are the 2 main locations the place the wild geoducks develop naturally for industrial harvest. The 2 nations did wholesome enterprise primarily serving Chinese language appetites for many years, partially as a result of portions are restricted. It’s a labor-intensive and heavily-regulated harvest, as divers should go a number of ft beneath the floor to dig for them.
“They love the fact that it tastes like the sea,” stated James Austin, president of Canada’s Underwater Harvesters Affiliation. “It’s a product that’s really a hit with the Chinese. It’s all about the wild coastline. It’s really prestigious.”
Austin stated he expects there will likely be 2.75 million kilos of Canadian geoducks harvested in 2025, price roughly $60 million Canadian {dollars} ($43.4 million USD) in income.
Whereas demand has been comparatively low however nonetheless regular for Canadian’s geoducks, Austin stated they’re now the main exporters for China, which has helped them negotiate increased costs because of this. For instance, after Canada acquired hit with a 25% tariff in March, export sale costs dropped to $12 per pound, and after the U.S. acquired hit with a 125% tariff in April, Canadian geoducks are actually being offered for $17 a pound.
“We have no competitors right now,” Austin stated.
Yang Bin at Beihai Huaxiashougang Well being Trade Firm in Beihai metropolis of Guangxi province in China stated their seafood wholesale necessary enterprise not will get geoduck from the U.S.
“We don’t care about U.S. tariffs because we can get geoduck from other countries with stable prices,” Yang stated.
Ready for geoducks
On their first week again to work for the reason that tariff struggle introduced enterprise to a standstill in Washington state, Derrick McRae and his brother pulled up about 800 kilos of untamed geoducks in only one April day.
He donned a full-body diving outfit with an oxygen line tethered to his boat to dive underneath the chilly waters of an inland sea channel west of Seattle. Kneeled on the seafloor, McRae used a water spray gun to maneuver the sand protecting the geoducks. Within the cloud of sediment, he felt for the neck along with his hand, pulling the clam and stuffing it in a web hooked up to him.
“We’re just kind of waiting on the edge of our seats to see what happens next,” McRae stated.
At one of many southernmost inlets, farmer Ian Baby stated the tariff disruption isn’t just hurting his backside line however your complete farming course of. He normally locations younger geoducks within the sand in the summertime, however he can’t combine new crops with any present unharvested clams.
“I think that the demand is still over there for the product,” he stated of China. “I think they still want it. It’s just a matter of where the tariffs will land.”
