LONG BEACH — Razor clam digging will be open Saturday and Sunday on three Washington beaches, the final afternoon digs of the winter.
Spring digging will be during morning tides.
Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks will be open from noon to midnight this weekend. Low tide is at 4:13 p.m. (0.0 feet) on Saturday and 5 p.m. (-0.2 feet) on Sunday.
Marine toxin tests indicate the clams are safe to eat.
Copalis beach will be closed this month due to a relatively low number of clams, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“We want to save some of the clams available for harvest in the Copalis management area for spring digs,” Ayres said. “The other three beaches have enough clams to take us right through the end of the season.”
Kalaloch Beach will also remain closed, due to a low number of razor clams. The National Park Service, which manages that beach in cooperation with the state, has announced plans to open Kalaloch for a dig on April 7-9.
Once the harvest is totaled for this month’s dig, the department will announce plans for future digs, starting in early March, Ayres said.
Because of the change in tides that occurs in spring, those digs all will be during morning hours.
Under state law, diggers can take 15 razor clams per day and are required to keep the first 15. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
All diggers age 15 or older must have a 2011-12 license to harves razor clams. Washington’s license cycle is April through March.
A three-day razor clam license costs $6.60. An annual license is $11.
