KALALOCH BEACH JUST might be a diggers’ paradise after all for the 2011-12 season that begins in late October.
While adult razor clam populations have declined two years in a row at the Olympic National Park beach, tribal and state biologists contend it could very well produce some decent digs this season.
Joe Schumacker, marine resources scientist with the Quinault Department of Fisheries, maintains that this year’s populations are robust enough to sustain a good recreational harvest.
In fact, the Quinault and Hoh tribes plan on doing their own digs this season after summer stock assessments estimated an adult clam population of 1.4 million adult clams (3 inches) at the beach.
Schumacker also contends that concerns voiced about the fatal shellfish disease nuclear inclusion-X (NIX) potentially hurting Kalaloch’s clam population are unfounded.
“We’re absolutely going to have a season this year,” said Schumacker, a Quinault tribal biologist the past 12 years.
“We’d like to see [the adult population] a little better, but it’s certainly got a good number of harvestable clams on it.
“We don’t feel there is any conservation issue on that beach, and we intend to harvest responsibly.
“Frankly, if I were the people in Forks and Port Angeles, I’d want to go out there and do some digging.”
Of course, that viewpoint flies opposite the thoughts expressed by Steven Fradkin, coastal ecologist for the park, in this space three weeks ago.
Looking at a 45-percent decline in adult clams from 2009, he predicted a poor digging season at Kalaloch
“Last year was a lousy clamming season [at Kalaloch],” Fradkin said in mid-August.
“People had a hard time getting clams, and there weren’t a lot of clams and there weren’t big clams.
“This year is not going to be any better than that.”
Kalaloch saw its recreational season cut short last winter after digger success dipped dramatically.
Harvesters averaged three clams or less per digger, prompting concern that the population had declined dramatically.
This year’s population assessment — conducted in concert by state and tribal biologists — supported that conclusion to some extent after it found populations had fallen back to levels in 2008, a year when there wasn’t a recreational harvest.
Still, Schumacker and state coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres both said the beach can sustain a productive recreational harvest of some form.
And there appears to be enough support for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to offer some digs this season.
“We try to compare razor clam density [during stock assessments], and when you look at Kalaloch compared to other beaches in the south, it’s right in the ballpark,” Ayres said.
“I think there is a good chance there will be digging at Kalaloch. When exactly that will be we haven’t determined yet.”
There is a belief that last winter’s poor digger success was more a matter of poor conditions than a major population decline.
Winter is a notoriously difficult time to dig for razor clams at Kalaloch, Schumacker said.
Increased rainfall, cooler conditions and sloppier surf make it harder to find clam shows in the winter months, when harvest numbers typically decline.
That being said, no other beach in the state was as adversely affected by those conditions as Kalaloch last winter.
Schumacker argues the beach’s unique geography plays a major role in that.
“Kalaloch is a tougher beach to dig on,” Schumacker said.
“If there is any type of surf coming up, it’s just tougher to get down to the lower areas where the clams really are.
“You really have to get a good tide and get down to the lower part to get to a lot of clams.”
The fact that tribal diggers’ success increased precipitously last spring, Schumacker said, supports that conclusion.
“Our guys just don’t even bother if there’s winter digs,” he said.
At the heart of the disagreement between park and tribal biologists is the idea that NIX has become an issue at Kalaloch.
The shellfish disease — which adversely affects the gills of razor clams — is fatal to shellfish but not harmful to humans.
A two-year study conducted by Fradkin found NIX present in an overwhelming majority of the beach’s razor clam population from 2008-10.
In July 2010, the last period for which NIX data is available, it was detected in approximately 95 percent of the beach’s clams.
There is no definitive link between NIX and the beach’s last two population declines, Fradkin said.
But without proof of an increased predator presence, or major changes in temperatures or wave regimens, he said, NIX appears to be a likely culprit.
Schumacker disagrees.
“The NIX bacteria can be found resident in clams up and down our coast,” he said.
“It doesn’t become a problem — at least as far as we know to date — until there are certain environmental conditions.”
Added Schumacker:
“It’s really evident if you have a NIX infection that is causing major mortality.
“It basically wipes out that whole population.
“You’ll find clams hanging out at the beach that are half dead.”
There have been reports of clam shells showing up on Kalaloch’s shores, but Schumacker said that could be attributed to any number of factors.
He said the up-and-down nature of Kalaloch’s razor clam populations is likely more a product of fluctuations in “recruitment.”
It is the northernmost beach in the state with a viable razor clam population and can sometimes be less receptive to recruitment of larvae floating in waters off the coast.
“We just don’t know,” he said. “There’s a number of things that could possibly be causing those.”
Ayres said the state plans on posting razor clam population data on its website (wdfw.wa.gov) sometime during the next two weeks.
The public will be allowed to comment on the findings before seasons are set in late September.
Given this fall’s tide charts, it seems safe to assume the first set of digs will come near Oct. 28-30.
While there might be some debate about how good a harvest Kalaloch diggers will have, there’s little doubt it will be included in this season’s recreational calendar.
“Razor clam populations naturally swing up and down pretty dramatically,” Ayres said.
“The population is down some, but it’s not precarious.”
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.