A10 • Friday, January 25, 2019 | Cannon Beach Gazette | CannonBeachGazette.com
The future of razor clamming on Oregon’s North Coast
Shellfi sh biologist
shares reseach
data
said. “People come to the
beach a lot of times to go
razor clamming.”
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Cannon Beach Gazette
Since 2001, Hunter has
been involved in a number
of multiyear, data-rich stud-
ies of razor clams to research
maturation timeframes, body
mass indices, biotoxin accu-
mulation, discard assessment,
and abundance assessment.
He presented data collected
during these studies and also
how it has been used for pro-
active management purposes,
of which the current season is
a good example.
The razor clam season
generally runs from Oct. 1
through July 15. When the
department was doing stock
assessment this year, how-
ever, they discovered the
clams on Clatsop beaches
were particularly small, or
an average of 2.66 inches —
well below the 3¾-inch min-
imum size allowed for com-
mercial harvest. Only three of
240 clams they assessed were
the legal size.
“We knew we had a prob-
lem, just looking at this
While audience members
gleaned a couple insider tips
to aid the success of hunting
for and cooking razor clams,
the main takeaway from
shellfi sh biologist Matt Hunt-
er’s lecture at the Cannon
Beach Library was how data
from past research projects is
used for management of the
species in Clatsop County.
Hunter, who has worked
more than 25 years for the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, presented
on “Oregon’s Razor Clam
Resource: Past, Current, and
Future” as part of the World
of Haystack Rock lecture
series, a joint effort between
the library, Friends of Hay-
stack Rock and Seaside
Aquarium.
Hunter shared details
about the razor clam species,
their growth and movement,
data,” Hunter said. “Rather
than opening up (the season)
and having a lot of issues
with small clams not being
retained, we went through
some emergency rules and
regulations to close it down.”
The department delayed
the season for a month, which
allowed time to get the pub-
lic involved. At an October
meeting in Seaside, they pre-
sented data from studies, as
well as models that showed
if harvesters kept the fi rst
15 clams they caught — as
they are supposed to — those
clams would likely be only 2
to 3 inches. The goal, Hunter
said, was “doing our due dili-
gence and being transparent.”
During the meeting and
through other means, such as
phone calls and emails, they
solicited public feedback
regarding the season.
“After people saw the
data, 86 percent of them
thought the season should be
delayed at least until March
1,” Hunter said.
The department also found
most commenters supported
adaptive management and
allowing rules to be altered to
refl ect the factors presented in
Research and adaptive
management
Katherine Lacaze/For Cannon Beach Gazette
Matt Hunter, a shellfi sh biologist with the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife in Astoria, gives a presentation “Oregon’s
Razor Clam Resource: Past, Current and Future” at the Cannon
Beach Library.
preferred habitat, and spawn-
ing habits. The population
on Clatsop beaches has been
“very consistent,” Hunter
said.
The commercial fi shery of
razor clams dates back to the
1800s and used to account for
a high percentage of the total
catch. Once infrastructure
changed around the Colum-
bia River and development
increased, people had more
accessibility to the clams,
causing a signifi cant shift
in the primary purpose for
harvesting.
Currently,
commercial
activity accounts for approx-
imately 15 percent of the total
razor clam harvest — the rest
is recreational.
“It’s become very eco-
nomically and culturally
important along the entire
Pacifi c Northwest, from
Alaska all the way down to
northern California,” Hunter
a particular year or season.
With the season cur-
rently closed until March 1,
the department is monitoring
the clams’ average growth,
which has been about .25 mm
per week.
“The clams aren’t going to
be very big unless something
miraculous happens, so more
to come, for sure,” Hunter
said.
Looking ahead
Hunter has his eye on sev-
eral future studies and proj-
ects. These include alleviat-
ing user group/social confl icts
over harvesting; the sustain-
able use of the resource and
wastage issues; and how
microplastics, climate change
and ocean acidifi cation will
impact the population.
The World of Haystack
Rock series presents a slate
of knowledgeable speakers
who present at 7 p.m. on the
second Wednesday of each
month through May at the
library. On Feb. 13, Joshua
Saranpaa will discuss “Life-
cycle and Rehabilitation of
the Common Murre.”
Events are free and open
to the public.
Fisherpoets: An artistic tradition derived from the heritage of coastal region
Continued from Page A1
Cannon Beach resident
Jon Broderick, co-founder
and organizer of the Fish-
erPoets Gathering, and Jay
Speakman, of Gearhart,
kicked off “An Evening With
Fisherpoets.” Their duo per-
formance featured not only
spoken delivery of their
poetry, but also both men
providing musical accompa-
niment, Broderick on guitar
and Speakman on harmonica.
The soulful presentation aug-
mented the emotion buried in
tales of missing loved ones
while at sea and undergoing
a harrowing experience while
winter shrimping in Maine,
among others.
Speakman and Broderick
were followed by Rob Seitz,
who described his fi sherpo-
etry as “so realistic it’s been
known to cause a sea-sick-
ness-like feeling among those
who are listening.” True to his
word, the Astoria-based com-
mercial fi sherman’s tongue-
in-cheek delivery perfectly
suited the experiences he cap-
tured, such as the challenge of
relieving oneself into a 5-gal-
lon bucket while on the water
and dealing with younger
deckhands by either yelling
“or telling them how good
you were when you were their
age.”
Geno Leech, of Chinook,
Washington, also imbued his
poems with a sense of humor.
Many of his lyrics spoke of
unique individuals he has met
and important relationships he
has built through while work-
ing in the Pacifi c Northwest
and the Great Lakes area.
To wrap up the evening,
boisterous Dave Densmore,
of Astoria, took the audi-
ence on a journey into the
past through several “pretty
true” historical poems about
the settlement of Astoria
and early exploration of the
Lower Columbia River basin.
Although told in fi rst-per-
son, Densmore stepped into
the shoes of the crew mem-
bers aboard the Tonquin to tap
into the experiences of cross-
ing the Columbia Bar, surviv-
ing on the “windswept west-
ern coast,” and the sensation
of being unable to get warm
and dry because of the perpet-
ual coastal rain.
“An Evening With Fish-
erpoets” is an example of
how the library is working
to expand the scope of the
Northwest Author Series,
which traditionally has cen-
tered on Saturday afternoon
events where authors conduct
readings and book-signings.
“We love providing a
venue for authors to share
their work,” Bernt said.
While continuing author
presentations, the library is
hoping to add more events,
especially in the evenings
when the whole library can
be utilized. Bernt said crit-
ics were unsure how a poetry
event would fare. As the eve-
ning came to a close, how-
ever, she noted, the reaction
the poets received from the
audience demonstrated “the
love of poetry is alive and
well.”
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Katherine Lacaze
Fisherpoet Rob Seitz during the Northwest Author
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