Recreational Razor Clam Fishery Closed in Del Norte County Due to Public Health Risk

Razor clams
CDFW photo

Northern California clammers take note! The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has closed the recreational razor clam fishery in Del Norte County as of November 9, 2023 to protect public health. The season was closed after state health agencies found that consuming recreationally harvested razor clams from the area poses a significant health risk due to domoic acid exposure.

CDFW Reopens Humboldt County Razor Clam Fishery

Razor clams
CDFW photo

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has reopened Humboldt County beaches to sport clammers seeking tasty North Coast razor clams, effective Aug. 7, 2023.

CDFW reopened the fishery following a recommendation from state health agencies that eating razor clams from this area no longer poses a significant public health threat.

Creature Feature: Pacific Razor Clam

In California, the Pacific razor clam may be found from the California-Oregon border southward to Pismo Beach, but they are most abundant in Del Norte and Humboldt counties.

Don’t Eat That Razor Clam!

Razor clam
CDFW photo by J. Ray

The sport razor clam fishery closed more than two years ago in Humboldt and Del Norte counties due to harmful levels of a naturally occurring marine biotoxin, domoic acid, found in the clams. The state Department of Public Health (CDPH) has documented varying levels of toxin in the clams since the closure, but levels have not fallen low enough to reopen the sport season.

In fact, recently skyrocketing levels of domoic acid in northern California razor clams have renewed concerns among