News and Highlights: 2006 - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:


Entire Oregon coast open to razor clamming for first time in nearly four years

NEWPORT ........ The last section of Oregon beach still closed to razor clamming will open Thursday, June 22 at 12:01 a.m., marking the first time in nearly four years that the entire Oregon coast is open.
Recent testing by the Oregon Department of Agriculture determined that domoic acid levels are within the safe range on the last remaining section of beach closed, from Otter Point near Gold Beach north to the Umpqua River jetty near Reedsport.
In October 2002, a large bloom of the algae that produces domoic acid forced the closure of all Oregon beaches to razor clamming. Closure occurs when toxins exceed an alert level of 20 ppm for domoic acid, a level that provides a margin of safety by halting harvest before toxins reach an amount that may cause human illness. Razor clams retain the natural toxin domoic acid in their edible tissues for many months before purging it.