Look closely at the action.

Clams. Coquinas. On the prowl.

In August you can find them on Cape May beaches, thousands upon thousands of them.

Get enough of them you can boil them up, strain out the shells, add some potatoes, onions, and cream to taste, and have a tasty tiny clam feast! It sounds delicious, and in February I dream of making it--last week I had the chance.

And I did not.

I have enough trouble thinking about my sessile quahogs as I toss them into the boiling water. To kill thousands of their smaller active cousins, though, was too much for me last week.

It may not matter much to an individual coquina that it has been plucked from the edge of the surf, only to end up in boiling water. I have no way to tell, and they certainly don't squawk too much when I pick them up.

Does the scale of the slaughter matter when dealing with mollusks?

(Or did I just need an excuse to show a live action shot of coquinas....?)

Video by Chris Griffiths, used with permission.