LAUGH OUT LOUD AT CANNON BEACH COMEDY FEST COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 225
ONE DOLLAR
DI GING OUT
MARINE TOXIN INCREASINGLY THREATENS RAZOR CLAMMING
Moratorium
possible on
homestay
lodging
Astoria struggles with
‘Wild West’ rentals
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Luke Whittaker/ EO Media Group
Thousands flocked to Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula beaches to dig for razor clams at the end of April.
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
O
regon is closed to razor clam dig-
ging for the rest of the month, and
researchers believe such closures
could become a regular occurrence as they
see the number of harmful algal blooms
recorded in recent years increase.
R oughly 95 percent of razor clam dig-
ging in the state occurs on the relatively
fl at Clatsop County beaches between the
Columbia River and Seaside, where razor
clam populations are the most stable. A
record 2.1 million razor clams were har-
vested in the county last year.
This season, though, the state’s
beaches have remained closed to diggers.
Recent test results show levels of the
marine toxin domoic acid remain high in
razor clams and, in some cases, have actu-
ally gone up.
The Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, with the state Department of Agri-
culture, must now cycle through another
two sample periods. Only if both of those
periods result in “clean” razor clams will
the state consider opening the beaches to
diggers.
“So pretty much May is gone,” said Matt
Hunter, a Department of Fish and Wildlife
shellfi sh and phytoplankton project leader
based in Astoria.
For the p ast 20 years, since domoic acid
was fi rst documented on the West Coast in
1991, the blooms have followed somewhat
predictable patterns.
In Oregon and Washington state, they
would appear in the fall, sometimes the
spring, and then disappear again after a few
weeks.
“Then, in 2015,” said Kathi Lefebvre,
a research biologist with NOAA Fisher-
ies’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center,
“Bam!”
The largest harmful algal bloom ever
recorded struck the West Coast.
See TOXIN, Page 7A
The Astoria City Council believes a mor-
atorium on new applications could be neces-
sary to curb a growing number of vacation
rentals based out of people’s homes while
the city considers whether to allow or forbid
the practice .
At a work session Wednesday morning, a
majority of the council agreed the city needs
more time to consider its options and city
staff needs to bring people who are currently
operating such rentals illegally into compli-
ance without juggling new applications at
the same time.
“It’s been the ‘Wild West’ out there for
home stays,” said Councilor Tom Brownson,
“so we’re just in the process, in this environ-
ment, of coming to terms with it and trying
to fi gure it out.”
See MORATORIUM, Page 7A
Arch Cape
design review
committee
clings to life
Luke Whittaker/ EO Media Group
Long Beach Tavern owners Carol and Jim Majors took first place in the clam chow-
der competition. More photos available online at DailyAstorian.com
County still intends
to dissolve panel
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Following a contentious public hear-
ing, a decision to nix the Arch Cape Design
Review Committee has been tabled, though
its dissolution may be inevitable.
The Clatsop County Board of Commis-
sioners voted 4-1 Wednesday night in favor
of an ordinance to dissolve the committee,
but needed unanimous approval since the
vote was called immediately following the
public hearing. Another vote likely will take
place at the board’s meeting later this month ,
which will require a simple majority to pass.
See ARCH CAPE, Page 7A
Luke Whittaker/ EO Media Group
Most dressed for the weather, but some came dressed for the occasion at the Ra-
zor Clam Festival in Long Beach, Wash., at the end of April.
BY THE NUMBERS
95
2.1M
2015
30
roughly the percent of razor clam
digging in the state that occurs on
Clatsop County beaches between
the Columbia River and Seaside
the record amount of razor clams
that were harvested in Clatsop
County last year
the year the largest harmful algal
bloom ever recorded struck the
West Coast
the number of large whales that
died in the western Gulf of Alaska
during the big algal bloom of 2015
Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian
Residents in Arch Cape have fought to
save a design review committee.
Whale calf died after getting tangled in crab lines
Migrating north
to Arctic waters
EO Media Group
Cascadia Research
A dead whale calf was examined by researchers on May
4 after being towed to an island in the Columbia estuary.
LONG BEACH , Wash. —
An entangled gray whale calf
died after being caught in crab
pot lines, Olympia-based sci-
ence group Cascadia Research
Collective reported following
an examination.
The whale, a 20-foot-7-inch
male born this calving season,
was initially reported dead in
late April , anchored in place
half a mile off of the Seaview
beach approach. On May 1, it
was discovered the whale was
entangled in apparent commer-
cial crab pot gear, researchers
said.
T he whale was towed to a
remote island inside the mouth
of the Columbia River.
A necropsy last week
showed the whale was at the
age when mothers with calves
migrate north from their winter
breeding and calving grounds
in Baja to feeding areas primar-
ily in Arctic waters. This migra-
tion is often close to shore and
through commercial crabbing
grounds.
“The whale was entangled
in numerous areas including
through the mouth and showed
bruising around these areas
indicating it was alive when it
became entangled ( and) had
died as a result of the entan-
glement,” researchers said.
“The whale was in excellent
body condition with a large and
oily blubber layer and even fat
reserves around the heart all
indicating it had been in good
health prior to experiencing
a more sudden death. Many
of the internal organs were
decomposed likely as a result of
rapid decomposition due to the
insulating blubber layer.”
W hale entanglements have
increased in recent years along
the West Coast, most dramati-
cally with humpback whales
off California, and have been of
growing concern, according to
See WHALE, Page 7A