Razor clam seasons closed

Posted by: bushbear

Razor clam seasons closed - 05/04/17 04:53 PM

With one possible exception, looks like razor clamming is done for the season.

Razor clam digging closed for the season on 3 beaches;
Dig at Mocrocks depends on toxin tests

OLYMPIA – Three of Washington's ocean beaches will remain closed to razor clam digging for the rest of the season while a potential dig at Mocrocks depends on additional toxin tests.

Test results on razor clams dug at both Long Beach and Twin Harbors beaches indicate levels of domoic acid exceed the threshold (20 parts per million) set by state public health officials, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

"Based on the most recent toxin tests, razor clams will not be safe to eat for the remainder of the month at Long Beach or Twin Harbors," Ayres said.

Toxin levels at Copalis beach are below the health threshold. However, the beach will remain closed because diggers reached the number of harvestable razor clams for the season there, Ayres said.

State shellfish managers will consider scheduling an opening at Mocrocks later in May, depending on the results of two toxin tests, Ayres said. The first test results indicate levels at Mocrocks are just below the threshold. A second test is scheduled for next week.

"It's possible toxin levels at Mocrocks will remain low enough to allow another dig there," Ayres said. "But we need to see what the next results show before scheduling an opening."

The department likely will make an announcement next week on whether there will be another dig at Mocrocks this season.

WDFW routinely closes the razor clam fishery by the end of May when the clams begin to spawn. The next season will begin in fall, when the older clams have recovered from spawning and a new generation begins to grow beneath the sand.

Domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities. The toxin has posed problems for razor clam and crab fisheries along Washington's coast for the last two years.
More information about domoic acid, as well as current levels at all ocean beaches, can be found on WDFW's webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/domoic_acid.html.
Posted by: cohoangler

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/08/17 02:06 PM

This is a really strange. The clam season on Long Beach has been closed for awhile due to domoic acid. Then WDFW opens the season just in time for the clam fest weekend in Long Beach. And they up the limit to 25 clams a day. Then they mysteriously close it again immediately afterwards.

How is it that it’s safe to eat 25 clams/day on the weekend, and then close it on Monday since the clams are too toxic to eat any?
Posted by: Carcassman

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/08/17 02:23 PM

Met the license sale quota.

Wasn't there a similar goat roping exercise a couple years ago when the domain acid levels were going up, close to the action line, but the opened it anyway and then closed after a day as the action level was reached.

As an aside, about a decade ago there was a toxic algae problem in a westside lake. The kicker was that some tests were showing that kokanee were also toxic (a new occurrence). The Inland Fisheries Manager was not interested in closing the fishery because his job was to conduct fisheries on available harvestable fishes and it was the Health Department's job to ensure the fish wouldn't kill you if you ate them. Silos at their best.
Posted by: STRIKE ZONE

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/11/17 02:26 PM

Booo.Good luck,

SZ
Posted by: eyeFISH

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/14/17 12:01 PM

Originally Posted By: cohoangler
This is a really strange. The clam season on Long Beach has been closed for awhile due to domoic acid. Then WDFW opens the season just in time for the clam fest weekend in Long Beach. And they up the limit to 25 clams a day. Then they mysteriously close it again immediately afterwards.

How is it that it’s safe to eat 25 clams/day on the weekend, and then close it on Monday since the clams are too toxic to eat any?


As a public health concern, the concentration of domoic acid in shellfish and shellfish parts at point of sale should not exceed the current permissible limit of 20 mg/kg tissue.

Studies have shown that there are no symptomatic effects in humans at levels of 0.5 mg/kg of body weight.

So if a person weighed 80 kg (~176#), a DA load of 40 mg would produce NO symptoms.

In order to load your body with 40 mg of DA, you would have to eat 2 kg of razor clams contaminated to 20 PPM (mg/kg).

That's 4.4 pounds of contaminated razor clams that could be consumed WITHOUT symptomatic poisoning.
Posted by: cohoangler

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/15/17 09:59 AM

Thanks FishDoc. I wasn’t questioning the criteria by which WDFW/Dept of Health decides whether the amount of domoic acid toxin in the clams is sufficient to close the beaches. Or not.

I just noted that Long Beach has been closed for almost a year due to domoic acid levels in the clams. But then WDFW suddenly opens Long Beach to clamming in late April, which is coincidentally occurs during the Long Beach Clam Festival. And then they close the beaches again after the festival.

Why was that during that one, brief shining moment the clams were safe to consume (at 25 clams per day), but every other day for the past year, they weren’t? And still aren't. It appears to me they decided the economic value of the clam festival in Long Beach outweighed the health and safety of the clam-digging public.
Posted by: Krijack

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/15/17 11:57 AM

You should be able to ask and get the results of their testing. Should be easy, but you never know. If they don't readily have access, that would be the first sign something strange is occurring. I am sure they would have to release them with a public disclosure request. With all the baloney going on, I would love to hear what you find out.
Posted by: Krijack

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/15/17 12:07 PM

I took about 5 minutes and tracked down the number and person in charge of the recreational shell fishing for the DOH (Liz Maier) and sent her over the following email.

Liz,
I was wondering if you have or could get me a contact that has the levels/ numbers for the testing for Domoic Acid for the Long Beach Razor clams for the past year. I am trying to find how often the testing occurs and what the levels were each time over the past year.

Thanks

Now lets see if anyone responds
Posted by: Carcassman

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/16/17 11:03 AM

Keep us posted....
Posted by: Krijack

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/16/17 10:30 PM

No response to my email yet. I will try to make a direct call tomorrow to follow up.
Posted by: Krijack

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/22/17 07:51 PM

Ok, I got a response today. From what I can tell, there were only three dates that made the cut. I would guess the 16th was chosen due to tides, but I am not sure. I am having problems downloading the file, but you can send me a message and I will forward it over to you. What is odd is how the numbers can change from week to week. . A couple of times one week was good with the next bad, and in one case only by a little on one test. But, from the looks of things it was all done correctly. If I am reading the data right, the following dates were the only ones that made the cut

4/9
4/16
4/22


Below is the letter I received.

Hi,
 
I’ve attached the razor clam biotoxin data for this last season.
 
We sample 4 sites along Long Beach during one sample run. All 4 sites need to test below 20ppm for domoic acid for the beach to open.
 
We coordinate our sampling with WDFW and when they want to open the beach for digging based on low tides.
 
If  levels are above 20ppm at any of the 4 sample sites the beach will remain closed. To open we require 2 sample sets (taken 7-10 days apart) to have all 4 sites test below 20ppm to reopen the beach.
 
If you have any questions about our sampling plan, please feel free to ask.
 
Thank you, Audrey
 
Audrey Coyne
Marine Biotoxin Coordinator
Office of Environmental Health and Safety
Division of Environmental Public Health
Washington State Department of Health
PO Box 47824
Olympia, WA 98504-7824
Phone: 360-236-3354
Email: Audrey.Coyne@doh.wa.gov
Shellfish Safety Web Page: www.doh.wa.gov/shellfishsafety.htm
Posted by: eyeFISH

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/22/17 08:14 PM

Originally Posted By: Krijack
What is odd is how the numbers can change from week to week. . A couple of times one week was good with the next bad, and in one case only by a little on one test.


The assay for detecting DA has a certain confidence interval for precision... i.e how well multiple runs of the lab test performed on the SAME tissue sample come up with the same answer.

I suspect there's probably a little slop there. Depending on how conservative or liberal they wanted to be about risk vs opportunity, I'm sure the answer could be stretched one way or another.
Posted by: Sol Duc

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/22/17 10:19 PM

Originally Posted By: cohoangler
Thanks FishDoc. I wasn’t questioning the criteria by which WDFW/Dept of Health decides whether the amount of domoic acid toxin in the clams is sufficient to close the beaches. Or not.

I just noted that Long Beach has been closed for almost a year due to domoic acid levels in the clams. But then WDFW suddenly opens Long Beach to clamming in late April, which is coincidentally occurs during the Long Beach Clam Festival. And then they close the beaches again after the festival.

Why was that during that one, brief shining moment the clams were safe to consume (at 25 clams per day), but every other day for the past year, they weren’t? And still aren't. It appears to me they decided the economic value of the clam festival in Long Beach outweighed the health and safety of the clam-digging public.

One word: Politics.
Posted by: Carcassman

Re: Razor clam seasons closed - 05/23/17 06:50 AM

The mentality in WDFW, and it is pushed by consumers, is give us an opening. Find that extra fish, push the envelope on DA or other toxins. We, collectively, are pushing for every opportunity to go out.

This is really nothing new as 40 years ago commercial net fisheries would open for less than 100 fish, sometimes less than 10. Those in NOF know how sharp the pencils get to wrest every last possible fish out of the water.