Mussel Harvesting Reopened on South Oregon Coast

Published 01/10/26 at 7:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Port Orford, Oregon) – The south Oregon coast is again really yummy.

Mussel harvesting has reopened from Cape Blanco south to the California border after new testing indicated marine biotoxin levels had fallen below the state’s alert threshold, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

The region includes Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brokings.

That area was closed in late November when officials detected elevated concentrations of paralytic shellfish toxin, a naturally occurring biotoxin capable of causing serious illness in humans. Recent samples confirmed levels have returned to within safe limits.

State agencies continue to urge harvesters to check conditions before heading out. The Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 and ODA’s Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures webpage provide the most current information.

Current recreational shellfish harvest closures and openings:

- Mussels: OPEN coastwide.
- Razor clams: OPEN from the WA border to Cape Blanco. CLOSED from Cape Blanco to the CA border.
- Bay clams: OPEN coastwide.
- Crab: OPEN coastwide.

ODA will continue testing for marine toxins along the Oregon coast at least twice per month as tides and weather allow. Any closed area requires two consecutive clean tests before reopening.

More information is available through ODA’s shellfish biotoxin hotline, the ODA Food Safety Program at 503-986-4720, or the agency’s Shellfish Food Safety webpage. ODFW provides details on recreational licenses, permits, rules, and harvest limits.

Seaside Aquarium photo

This has been a lucky year for biotoxins. Frequency of the issued greatly increased for a couple of years, shutting down or delaying shellfish seasons by months sometimes.

Back in May of 2024, over 21 people became extremely ill from consuming mussels that were affected by the marine biotoxin paralytic shellfish poison (PSP). This and the presence of domoic acid in some species caused the shore-wide closure of all recreational clamming and snagging mussels. All areas in Washington and Oregon were closed to recreational gathering.

Up on the Washington coast, those biotoxin closures were still in effect in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor until later in the year, but beach shellfish gathering was not in season at that time, anyway. It was eventually cleared.

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