Tuatua Anyone?

I went for a long walk along the beach, as I often do, but went a bit further than usual.
The tide was out, the sand was hard...
When I emerged from my own thoughts I noticed a lot of big sea birds gathered at the water line.
Being curious I investigated and to my amazement found huge beds of millions of Tuatua. I have never seen so many or on the surface like this before. Usually they are buried and have to be dug up.

Tuatua are an edible bivalve endemic to New Zealand rich in Omega 3. They live on sandy beaches and are found at low tide.
They move up and down the beach at night when the tide is favourable then burrow into the sand when the tide changes. I collected a bag full, the daily limit is 150 per person. I left them in a bucket of sea water overnight - they spit out all their sand. Then I shuck them, I am going to make them into fritters so I never double cook them - otherwise I could steam them open and put them in a vinegar, onion and brown sugar brine. The last pictures show the size in my hand...and a bowl full ready to chop or mince, add a little onion, parsley, egg and flour - fritters for dinner. Yummy!