OUTDOORS: Clam dig a mixed bag at Kalaloch

KALALOCH’S MUCH-ANTICIPATED razor clam opening, the first digs on that beach since 2011, proved a mix bag last Sunday and Monday.

“I was out there both days with my staff conducting harvest surveys as it’s been awhile since we have had digs on that beach,” Olympic National Park coastal ecologist Steve Fradkin said.

“Monday was better than Sunday. There were about 450 people out there on Sunday and it was rainy and it wasn’t the best low tide to begin with. Only about 1/3 of the clam bed was diggable.”

Sunday’s tide was 0.4 feet.

Fradkin said a meager “30 to 40 clams in total” were harvested.

“Clams were not showing,” Fradkin said.

“I don’t think I saw a person get more than two clams. Essentially every digger got zero clams. I’ve been managing razor clams digs since 2000 at Kalaloch and Sunday was the worst opening I’ve ever seen.”

Clams in buckets

Monday’s clam catch success rate did improve on a -0.4 feet tide.

“There was a better tide and it left more beach exposed,” Fradkin said. “If people stuck through it they were able to get their limit.

“Monday had about 250 people show up, and a reasonable number got their limit. “Many we talked to got between six to eight clams before they got tired and left.

“Monday’s dig was probably a little more realistic. Digging just won’t be as good as it is on state-owned beaches to the south.”

Kalaloch’s clams, part of a population of 7.5 million surveyed last summer, are medium-sized, in the range of 3 inches in length.

“People were able to get those clams if they worked at it,” Fradkin said.

“It was cold but sunny, a beautiful day. A mix of people happy about getting out there and having the opportunity and then some frustrated about the difficulties.”

Sounds like life in a nutshell, really.

Fradkin still believes there are a harvestable amount of clams on the beach and is eyeing approved digs in March as a bit of a barometer for the health of the clam population.

“We still think there are a fair number of clams out there,” he said.

“But we do have some concerns about long-term viability, long-term health of the population.

“The next set of dates will be in early March [10th and 11th] and should be really informative to see if catch per unit of effort increases and if the clam population increases.

“It’s certainly not the start to the harvest season we want to see, but not necessarily surprising given the problems at Kalaloch.”

Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, called the dig results “a head-scratcher” based off the clam populations surveyed last summer.

“I’ve been doing this for 35 years and each time numbers have been low like this there’s been some kind of mortality event, some kind of disease issue or predation issue. But it’s too early to speculate.”

Kalaloch has been hit especially hard by levels of Nuclear Inclusion X, a bacterium Fradkin said killed off 95 percent of the state’s razor clam population in the 1980s.

“NIX is still present in pretty high levels with 75 percent testing positive,” Fradkin said.

“We still do not quite know why Kalaloch is being hit that much harder than the state beaches to the south.”

NIX is fatal for shellfish but doesn’t harm humans.

One potential animal predator, the sea otter, has been spotted in droves near Destruction Island.

“Our marine mammal staff has been documenting a lot of sea otters that have been moving into that area,” Ayres said.

“They are shellfish eaters, pretty voracious shellfish eaters.”

Fradkin, who said sea otter numbers near Kalaloch have risen from 250 in the early 2000s to around 1,300 currently, doesn’t think the whiskered set has much to due with low clam catches.

“It’s a stretch to say the large mortality at Kalaloch is due to sea otters,” he said.

“Traditionally, we haven’t seen a lot of sea otters in that surf zone area.

“We very rarely see large groups of otters at Kalaloch. Only about 1 percent of that population is right there offshore.

But the uptick in population has sent scores of sea otters farther from their Destruction Island habitat in search of food.

“In this last year, however, about 25 percent of that population was seen in that near-shore area,” Fradkin said.

“I think their behavior has changed over the last year. They are eating themselves out of house and home and probably have to forage wider and wider for food. Historically, i.e. two years and farther back I don’t think they put a big dent in the population.”

So look to those planned March digs to provide better opportunity to catch clams.

“The tides will be better in March. They will be daylight tides, all negatives and a fair amount of the razor clams beds should be exposed,” Fradkin said.

“Those March tides will be really informative.

“We just don’t know yet if there has been continued mortality, or if conditions were not right for them to show themselves.”

Fradkin said to let Olympic National Park know about your clam-digging experience by phoning 360-565-3005 and speaking to a public information officer.

“If those March digs are poor, we will scratch our heads and reconsider digs planned in April and May,” he said.

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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.