I guess they didn't want us to dig again for some odd reason. There is no #$%@^&*@ way that the same batch of clams you dug a week ago are no good now. This is getting out of hand. We have absolutely no power. None. If they don't want us to dig we don't. They don't have to justify it. Just cry domoic acid and everyone is supposed to say ok. Screw that. That is bull crap.

I realize most of you don't even give two $h!t$ about clams at Kalaloch, but I want you to think about what they are doing. Absolutely no night digs for that beach the whole season because the (domoic acid) levels were too high. Then they give us a quick two day dig a week ago to shut us up. Now a week later the clams are no good again. How and why can they get away with this?

Contact our clam guru and see what he tells ya. I bet it's some bs story about how the acid level spiked up to unsafe levels.
Dan L. Ayres
> Coastal Shellfish - Lead Biologist
> Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife - Region Six
> 48 Devonshire Road
> Montesano WA 98563
> 360-249-4628 (ext 209)
> FAX 360-664-0689
> ayresdla@dfw.wa.gov

Apparently he surfs this sight so he'll see what we're talking about.

The Indians dug it all winter long. I guarantee those clams made it to the the casinos and public. But, we can't dig because of the Domoic acid what a joke.

W ampum
D one
F locked
W hitey

Here's the test results. But I still think they are fudged to get above the 20 ppm to close this beach.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/razorclm/levels/levels.htm#kalaloch

Personally, if it were up to me, I'd let anyone go out and dig for clams regardless of the tests being done. Thins out the gene pool that way.

You folks can happily dig up my share of the clams - when you get another chance at these healthy culinary delights!



Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Makes you wonder who is buying these tribal clams, huh? I wonder how many bowls of ASP Clam Chowder our local restaurants are serving up these days?

You might not like the outcome of the fishery, but you should at least respect the poison. It's nasty stuff.

And if you don't, well, ..er...I forgot what I was doing..... (Parker eats more of his clam chowder sitting in front of him)

Parker,

They sell them to a packer in west port, He puts them up in 35lb boxes, shell and all and in turn sells them to commy crabbers as bait.

I know cause I got a box in my freezer just waiting for the opener.

I was all set to go get some razor clams, at Long Beach a couple of years ago, and they closed the Washington beaches. However the beaches in Oregon were open so we changed our plans. We dug and ate some clams. A week later the ODFW told us to discard them. We ignored their advice since we didn't get sick.

We're going to Long Beach this weekend to dig some razors. I just hope they don't tell us afterward to discard them.

Has anybody had sucess using razor clams as steelhead bait? I wouldn't want them to go to waste.

if someone would put forth a solid theory as to what would motivate wdfw to fudge the acid numbers i'd have an ear for it.

until then, crying conspiracy without a valid motivation is pretty reactionary....dontcha think?

canada sets the level at double what washington does and nobody gets sick

Read Parker's thing. They do get sick in Canada-the study was done there.
That said I'm digging in Long Beach this wknd and bringing my mobile kitchen with me.

I'm not sure how or where to get the info, but I'm willing to bet that the clams the indians are digging that aren't up to snuff for us are getting sold to people who AREN"T getting sick. If they were you'd hear about it. So who is in the know on where to get the info on where all these clams are going?

Wdfw is doing it because the feds are telling them to. They don't want us getting the indians clams. Also what kind of revenue do they get from us digging clams at Kalaloch? There isn't anything going on up there. Now you send a 1000 people to ocean shores to dig they're going to spend some money.
Just a couple theories. No backing.

Why would they let us dig there? We have to assume that the clams are not bad considering that they were good last week. Doesn't that make you wonder what is going on behind the scenes??

You watch. The next dig will include Kalaloch. They let us clam every other dig. Remember last year???? So they're telling us that the levels just go up and down like a roller coaster?? Yeah right. I guess they think we have stupid tatooed on our foreheads.

the domoic acid levels were reported on the wdfw website.

are you saying they are forged?

the potential consequences of eating clams with elevated domoic acid levels are spelled out quite clearly in Parker's post.

i think you'd HAVE to have stupid tattoed on your forehead to think eating a clam with the potential to create permanent neurological damage was worth that risk.

wait....neurological damage was it? hmmm...i think I'm starting to develop a theory of my own...

a clam dig at Kalaloch puts many thousands of dollars into the Forks area economy. I would think that if there was something even remotely untoward happening 'behind the scenes' the city of Forks would have more pull with the WASHINGTON Department of Fish and Wildlife than 'the feds'.

Who exactly are these 'feds'?

ONP?

What....they don't want to waste precious resources on enforcement? I talk to the rangers down there every day and the overwhelming sense I get from them is 'lets have a dig'. If not ONP who then? More importantly, why?

....because they don't want us to dig the Indians clams? Which tribe are you suggesting these clams belong to, the Quinaults? Why not close down Moclips too then for good measure...The Hoh's? Like all six of them that dig are gonna even touch the population....

Here's the thing....I love a good conspiracy theory, I'll even advance one from time to time when the evidence is there or where there is a clear motivation.

'the feds don't want us to dig up the indians clams' just isn't doing it for me.

Then I guess you believe that the clams that were dug last week were fine and now they are not? One week and they go to level unsafe. I think not.

There is some reason they don't want us digging and I don't believe that it has anything to do with the domoic acid levels. It's real funny how we can't dig on any of the night digs down there, but as soon as the spring tides come around Kalaloch is fine again, but only every other dig.

I don't know. I'm just not happy about it and wish I had a better answer. I just don't think that the wdfw gives two craps about you and me. They're constantly taking away from us and giving to the commercial and indians.

Dan Ayers at WDFW sez that the tribes can not sell commercially if the levels are over & that they are not commercially clamming at Kalaloch. ok, but his reasoning for the levels changing is confusing. The clams store the poison in their fatty tissue & it takes a long time to dissipate. To me that would mean the levels should be more consistant. I don't know nothin I just work here. Glowball is right though, throw away all yer clams from last week???? They were good but not now???

H2O, not saying that he numbers are bunk. But if the beach is closed for us then it should be for them. Since it is a health concern. We all know how they sell thier catch out of the backs of trucks and don't go through legitimate buyers all the time. I guarantee some of these clams are being eaten by unsuspecting people.

It may be that the commercial crabbers are using razor clams for crab bait. He observed large blocks of frozen clams being loaded onto boats at LaPush.

So we're basically wasting a delicacy on crab bait? How can that be? Razor clams bring more than $10 per pound. I wouldn't think that crab fisherman are paying over $10/lb for crab bait would they? Why not shut the beach down for clams completely? What a waste.

Kris

Just passing along what I heard. Trying to confirm with some other sources.

How much do the tribes get for wild steelhead? We should be saying the exact same thing about that tribal fishery, too.

Oh wait, I think I just answered your question:

A dollar is a dollar. Get what you can while the getting is good, be damned of the consequences.

If you haven't figured it out yet, in the past few hundred years, modern fisheries management tends to favor rape and pillage first, *then* try to fix what is broken and/or lost.