BREAKING: Entire Oregon Coast Razor Clamming Shut Down

Published 10/02/2026 at 6:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – A sudden move by Oregon wildlife authorities today will have many in the region saddened: razor clamming is shut down along the entire Oregon coast.

Razor clam harvesting on the coast was closed after new tests showed domoic acid levels above the state’s safety limit, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced late Friday.

The closure includes Clatsop Beach, one of the coast’s most popular razor-clamming areas. That area just reopened after its yearly conservation closure, which always goes from July through October 1.

Meanwhile, mussels on the southern Oregon coast are still tainted.

“Mussel harvesting will reopen on the southern coast as domoic acid levels tested below the alert level,” ODFW said Friday. “Harvesting of mussels is now open coastwide.”

Domoic acid wreaked havoc with clam, mussel and even crabbing in recent years. Between 2020 and 2021, a harmful algae bloom prompted a year-long razor clamming shutdown along the north coast. It kept Seaside from reopening clamming for well over a year, and it has shortened commercial crabbing seasons quite a bit.

In 2024, 20 people got severely ill from eating mussels containing PSP. Subsequent discoveries of elevated levels of that biotoxin and domoic acid in other areas caused the entire Oregon coast to be shut down to harvesting for fun. Even some commercial areas that produced mussels were closed, as well as the two bays where mussels could be found on the Washington coast.

Current status:
Razor clams: CLOSED coastwide
Mussels: OPEN coastwide
Bay clams: OPEN coastwide
Crabs: OPEN coastwide

ODA conducts toxin testing at least twice a month as tides and weather allow. Any closed area must show two consecutive clean tests before reopening.

State officials continue to urge anyone planning a trip to the coast to check conditions before collecting shellfish.

The Shellfish Safety Hotline is 1-800-448-2474. Closures are also noted on ODA’S Recreation Shellfish page and on ODFW’s Recreation Report – Clamming and Crabbing Report.

For more information about clamming on the Oregon coast, visit ODFW’s Crabbing and Clamming page online.

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