Razor clam harvesting is closed coastwide as of Friday Oct. 2. The announcement from the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stated that domoic acid levels are above the safety threshold.
The closure includes popular razor clam harvesting areas on Clatsop Beach. Mussel harvesting on the south coast is now open, making mussel harvesting open coastwide. Bay clams and crabs are also open coastwide.
Domoic acid is a marine biotoxin. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, shellfish like razor clams feed on small plants in the water called phytoplankton that produce the toxin. When people eat contaminated shellfish, the toxin affect the digestive system, nervous system, or both.
Call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 for up-to-date information on shellfish harvests, or visit the ODA Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures Webpage. To reopen an area for harvest, the ODA must collect two consecutive tests from an affected area with results below closure limits.
