Pismo Beach was Once the Clam Capital of the World. Then the Clams Disappeared
Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription)
Pismo Beach loved its clams. More than a century ago, farmers with horse-drawn plows would comb the sand and haul the clams off by the wagon-full. The meat was fed to the hogs. Softball-size bivalves were so abundant, they could be found rolling ashore by the dozen at high tide. Pismo Beach was indeed the Clam Capital of the World. But did it love them too much?