Submitted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Recreational Razor Clam Update: No future razor clam dates will be announced until domoic acid levels in razor clams drop below the action level.
Marine Toxin Update: Listed below are the most recent marine toxin levels, as announced by the Washington Department of Health (WDOH).
Recall, before a beach can be opened for the harvest of razor clams, WDOH protocol requires that all razor clam samples collected from that beach must test under the action level (20 ppm for domoic acid; 80 µg/100g for PSP; and 16 µg/100g for DSP) on both of two required sample collections, that must be spaced 7 to 10 days apart.
Note that in all these samples; only razor clam meat tissue is tested.
These samples were all collected on 12/12/2020.
Long Beach Area E (north):
- domoic acid = 65 ppm
- PSP = none detected
- DSP = none detected
Twin Harbors Area CL (middle):
- domoic acid = 29 ppm
- PSP = none detected
- DSP = none detected
Copalis Area XL (middle)
- domoic acid = 46 ppm
- PSP = none detected
- DSP = none detected
Mocrocks Area BC (middle)
- domoic acid = 40 ppm
- PSP = none detected
- DSP = none detected
Experience with past major domoic acid events with the razor clam fishery we know that long after the toxin has left the water, razor clams remain very slow to depurate (or loose) domoic acid. In some of those events, the season did not open again until the following fall. We also have observed that levels will “bounce around” some. This is a result of which 12 clams are harvested when we are collecting samples. We know from previous studies that individual razor clams do not pick up toxin at the same rate. The laboratory protocol requires the clams to be cleaned and then the meat from all 12 from one area are blended together. Then a sample of that mixture is analyzed. If you are interested, you can check out the historical domoic acid data at the link below.
These results and the historical record of domoic acid events can be found at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website (click on “show historical data”) and then hover your curser over the data points for more detail).
WDFW will continue collecting razor clam every two weeks and with our colleagues in the ORHAB (Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom) partnership continue on-going observations of the surf zone phytoplankton assemblages.
