Clam digging is a common means by which to harvest clams from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live. It can be done both recreationally for enjoyment or as a source of food, or commerically as a source of income. Commerical digging is often referred to colloquially as clamming, done by a clammer.

In the Minas Basin area of Nova Scotia digging for soft-shelled clams is usually done with a clam hack , a spading fork with its short handle bend perpendicularly away from the fork's head. A digger typically uses the hack by grasping the spine of the prongs in one hand and the handle of the fork in the other to push the hack down into the mud or sand and then pull it up and towards him/herself. This digging action opens up the soil to expose the clams. Those clams legally long enough (44mm) are then taken by hand and put into a peck-size (9 litre) bucket used for measuring the volume of clams collected.

Amateur digging is often done using a straight long-handled spading fork or a spading shovel where the digger digs down into the soil by pushing the head of instrument down by stepping on its spine with one of her/his feet. The legal limit for recreational digging is 300 clams per day in Maritime Canada.