A marine biologist in Orange County has been surveying the sandy beaches of Southern California to figure out where a particular shellfish went.

Back in the day, Pismo clams used to cover beaches in SoCal. They were plentiful and allowed locals to go clamming for Pismo clams in the 1960s and 1970s to feed their families, she said. But the Pismo clam has all but disappeared, starting in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Nancy Caruso is now on a crusade for a clam comeback.

With the help of volunteers who help survey the sand using clamming rakes during a negative tide, Caruso has been collecting data at Sandy Beaches in Orange County, including at Bolsa Chica and Newport Beach.

She said figuring out where the Pismo clams are and how big they are will help show whether they are successfully reproducing. She said the data also will help her seek approvals to do restoration efforts to revive the clam population.

Anyone who would like to volunteer for the next clam survey can do so via her nonprofit Get Inspired.