Gets hard to control pet gatherings by the sea (9)

I believe the answer is:

clambakes

'gatherings by the sea' is the definition.

'gets hard to control pet' is the wordplay.
'gets hard' becomes 'cakes'.
'to control' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'pet' becomes 'lamb' (affectionate term of address).
'cakes' going around 'lamb' is 'CLAMBAKES'.

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