Years ago, you could dig razor clams 24/7, any time of the year. In the mid-60’s, the state began to set limits and manage the fishery to avoid over harvesting. Dan Ayres, a biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, describes a dicey event in the early 80’s when a parasitic gill infection killed off 95% of the razor clams on Washington beaches. The fishery had to be closed for two years. Luckily, the Pacific razor turned out to be not only resilient, but prolific. Within a couple of years, populations had bounced back full force!

Today every digger over age 15 must be licensed and is limited to taking 15 clams each. If you get caught poaching, fines start at $50 per clam and go up from there. Ayres says some sneaky poachers get a limit of clams, leave the beach, change their clothes and their vehicles, and return to bag more! One poacher who came back four times asked “How in the world did you catch me?” The enforcement office replied, “You forgot to change your dog!”

Ayres said WDFW tries to open a clam digging season one weekend a month on most Washington beaches from October through May. But the seasons are never confirmed until the last moment due to a marine toxin called domoic acid. First detected on the west coast in 1991, domoic acid is nothing to fool around with. Eating fish or shellfish containing the toxin causes the human illness known as amnesic shellfish poisoning. It can destroy short term memory, and even kill. Careful measurements are taken right up until a few days before the dig to make sure the amount of domoic acid is within acceptable levels.

Depending on tides and seasons, some digs are held at night (where a lantern is necessary), others are in the morning. On April 21st, it was raining sideways, the conditions making it nearly impossible to see the clam holes. Many diggers netted only one or perhaps two clams. Now mind you, true razor clam fanatics simply ignore the weather. Some of our most memorable digs have been in gale force winds--in the DARK—getting soaked by rogue waves. That’s exciting, but I must admit when Sunday dawned calm and sunny, we smiled, knowing we would bag our limit. We were hardly alone. Dan Ayres says the dig on the weekend of May 21- 22 drew some 55,000 clam diggers to the coast!

So why the mania over this particular shellfish?

Ayres says it’s something the entire family can do together—you see all ages out there chasing clams with the traditional shovel (known as a clam “gun”) or sucking them out of the sand with clam tubes. Then there’s the difficulty of the hunt. Razor clams don’t just lie there and let you rake them up. Oh no. Once they sense you’re after them, they kick that little digging foot into high gear and head straight for China--and they are fast! It’s quite an accomplishment to get one. I lost more than I’ve caught. Sometimes you are buried up to the armpit, trying to extract these elusive bivalves.

If you’re ready to try it, there’s one final dig this spring season. Twin Harbors is open during morning tides on May 4, joined by Long Beach May 5 and 6. For more information go to: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/razorclm/razorclm.htm.

Be sure to check out some photos shot by my daughter Marah on April 22 at Copalis Beach, Washington.

Fun Pacific Razor Clam Facts: SCIENTIFIC NAME: Siliqua patula ORIGIN OF NAME: Not due to sharpness of shell as many believe, but because it resembles clams on the East Coast so named because they look like razors RANGE: California to Alaska SIZE: maximum length 6 inches, but clams this large are seldom found. Clams measuring 7 inches long have been recorded, but are very rare. Razor clams found in Alaska may grow to eleven inches in length and live to be 15 years old, due to colder water temperatures and slower growth rates LIFE EXPECTANCY: 5 years PREDATORS: Dungeness crabs, shore birds, various types of fish, and thousands of clam diggers