For the fourth year in a row there will be no public razor clam harvest at Kalaloch in Olympic National Park in Washington state due to declining populations of the shellfish.
Biologists from the park, the Quinault Indian Nation, the Hoh Indian Tribe, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conduct razor clam stock assessments each summer. This year’s results showed the Kalaloch razor clam population to contain approximately half the number of clams found in 2013. Adult clams continue to be small, with an average size of 3.8 inches.
Kalaloch has been closed to harvest for the last three years due to the razor clams' low population status, park officials noted in a release.
“Considering the continued depression of the Kalaloch razor clam population, Kalaloch beach will remain closed to recreational razor clam harvest this season,” said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum.