Razor clam season looks promising

The coastal razor clam seasons begin Oct. 16, and clam abundance remains good on most beaches.

"What diggers will see is more clams on beaches south of Grays Harbor [at Twin Harbors and Long Beach] than there has been in the last few years," said Dan Ayres, the head state Fish and Wildlife coastal shellfish biologist. "Abundance at northern beaches like Copalis are similar to last year, and down just a bit at Mocrocks."

"The beaches north of Grays Harbor have nice-size clams, and is the place to go for those who are after bigger clams," Ayres said. "Beaches south of Grays Harbor have more clams, but are generally smaller."

More good news is Kalaloch will be open for the first time since spring of 2007, due to low clam abundance, but this year's assessment shows about 3.5 million clams of harvestable size.

Digs are tentatively scheduled at Twin Harbors (Oct. 16-19); Long Beach and Copalis (Oct. 16-18); and Mocrocks and Kalaloch (Oct. 17-18). Digging will be allowed from noon to midnight each day.

Diggers will also get a nice shot in the arm because Ayres says a series of low tides will occur on the New Year's holiday.

"That should please most folks since normally we can't allow a dig around New Year's, and this is one of those rare cases when the low tides land in that time frame," Ayres said.

Other planned digs are Nov. 4-7; Nov. 14-17; Dec. 2-5; and Dec. 31-Jan. 3.

With all the good news geared toward razor clams, there is an ominous threat that could be lurking in the sand.

"We have no problems with domoic acid, but we have been watching all summer the level of PSP [Paralytic Shellfish Poison] toxins that you normally see in Puget Sound and not on the coast," Ayres said. "The levels have gone up and down on the southern beaches."

PSP toxins are produced by microscopic marine algae. Shellfish become toxic by feeding on the algae. The poison acts rapidly, and no antidote has been discovered. The toxin isn't affected by freezing or cooking.

Ayres noted that the Oregon coast has been closed for razor clam digging because of high levels of PSP.

"We saw a blip on one of our recent samples when the PSP levels shot up to 62 parts per million [ppm], and the cutoff is 80 ppm," Ayres said. "We collected some samples on Monday, and those clams have shown it dropped down to 48 ppm."

"I feel confident going forward, and we will take test samples for marine toxins prior to the green light, and there is always a chance it could change," Ayres said. "We're not totally out of the clear yet."

There hasn't been a PSP closure since 1993 on the coast, and it was closed for over a year, Ayres said.

"Once clams grab onto the PSP it takes a long period of time for them to [purge it]," he said.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com