The co-managers use seawater to pump razor clams to the surface inside a 3-foot-wide mesh tube sunk vertically into the beach sand, enabling non-lethal sampling of the population. Depending on the size of the population, QIN and the state set a harvest rate of 25.4 or 30 percent for clams 3 inches or larger. That leaves 70 to 75 percent of the clams to reproduce and increase the population. Harvest is split evenly between tribal and state diggers.
Razor clams are important culturally and economically to the Quinault Indian Nation. Historically, tribal members used a branch from the yew tree to coax the fast-burrowing razor clam to the surface. Today, they use a clam shovel to harvest clams for subsistence as well as commercial harvest. The commercial harvest, occurring on beaches south of Kalaloch, is processed as clam steaks by the Quinault Indian Nation or sold for crab bait. The money earned by tribal members in this commercial enterprise gives an economic boost at a time seasonal jobs are few, and also helps stock home freezers with food.
“The clam populations on certain beaches tend to be pretty variable, such as Kalaloch,” said Scott Mazzone, marine and shellfish biologist for the Quinault Indian Nation. “While numbers are down a little on Kalaloch this year, they are actually better than they were in 2006 or 2007.” Kalaloch is near the northern-most area of the coast where razor clams are found in concentrations along the Washington coast.
A razor-clam specific disease, Nuclear inclusion X (NIX) is likely not affecting clam populations this year. “While we believe NIX is present at low levels in some of the clams on our beaches, it isn’t killing clams like it does when we have outbreaks,” said Joe Schumacker, marine resources scientist for Quinault Indian Nation. A NIX outbreak can wipe out nearly all of the razor clams on a beach. “You see half-dead and dead clams all over the beach during an outbreak,” said Schumacker. The disease does not affect humans who eat clams. The last severe outbreak occurred in the 1980s.
“We’re looking forward this year to another successful razor clam season for tribal and recreational diggers alike,” said Mazzone.
For more information, contact: Scott Mazzone, marine and shellfish biologist, Quinault Indian Nation, (360)276-8215; Debbie Preston, coastal information officer, Northwest Indian Fisheries, (360) 374-5501, [email protected]
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