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American Morning

Boston Authorities Worried About Shells

Aired February 07, 2002 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Now Boston authorities are worried about security beyond the tarmac. They're worried about shells. But probably not the kind you might imagine.

CNN Boston bureau chief Bill Delaney dug up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With a furious wind galing off Boston harbor, Wayne Witala, clam digger, on the outskirts of Logan Airport for a quarter century now, and his son, Sean, two generations in a back-breaking business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very hard work.

DELANEY: Work, though, they love, but now threatened. Since security concerns, fear of terrorist infiltrating the airport led to closing most clam beds near Logan. Cutting clammers earnings as much as 85 percent.

(on camera): Of the five main areas supported clam diggers around here for generations, the title flat skirting the airport itself as well as nearby Governor and Wood Island are now off limits. Only off Snake Island right here and Winter Shores, where I am, can digger still harvest clams.

(voice-over): Diggers say this collection of what they call racks is a typical day's haul right now, a fourth less than before the new restrictions.

WAYNE WITALA, CLAM DIGGER: Normally you see 40-50 out there. Right now, there's probably 10-12. Stop regulating us like we're the enemy. If they can't watch 40 guys put men on the runway (ph), then they have a security problem themselves. If they can't overlook what we're doing, they're not doing their job.

DELANEY: Airport security officials say they're not backing down.

TOM ROBBINS, LOGAN AIRPORT SECURITY: DELANEY: We can't have people in that secured area unaccounted for.

DELANEY: Diggers say they be better than anyone eying strangers. SEAN WITALA, CLAM DIGGER: I'm in the Army Reserve right now. I'm there to protect my country. My father is a Vietnam veteran. We know everybody that's out here. And if we see somebody we don't know, we'll confront them.

DELANEY: For now, though, for what's already very hard work, very hard times.

Bill Delaney, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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