Eight days of clam digging tentatively set
State shellfish managers have tentatively scheduled razor clam digs through April on four ocean beaches.
Final approval of all scheduled openings at Copalis, Mocrocks, Long Beach and Twin Harbors beaches will depend on whether results of marine toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat.
No digging is allowed before noon during evening digs and digging must be completed by noon during morning digs. However, WDFW is making exceptions to that rule on two dates in April, since low tides occur close to noon those days, Ayres said.
The proposed razor clam digs for Long Beach, along with low tides, are listed below:
• March 17, Saturday, 7:36 p.m.; +0.2 feet
• April 21, Saturday, 11:34 a.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, (digging hours will be extended to 1 p.m.)
• April 22, Sunday, 12:38 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, (digging hours will be extended to 2 p.m.)
Under state law, diggers can take 15 razor clams per day and are required to keep the first 15 they dig. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
Hoof rot research candidate to speak
Washington State University is bringing the first of at least four candidates for a new position as elk hoof disease research leader to Olympia for a public presentation on Feb. 22.
The presentation is set for 9 a.m. in the South Puget Sound Community College Lecture Hall 2011 Mottman Rd. SW, in Olympia.
The candidate, Aniruddha Belsare, is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the University of Idaho’s Center for Modeling and Complex Interactions. He earned his Ph.D. in Wildlife Sciences with a focus on Disease Ecology from the University of Missouri in 2013. His current research has focused on the interaction between disease causing organisms and the animals they infect.
Dr. Belsare’s lecture is entitled, “Pragmatic models for defensible decisions: An adaptive management approach for mitigating wildlife disease threats.”
Salmon input sought
State fishery managers have scheduled a variety of opportunities for the public to participate in setting salmon fishing seasons for 2018, beginning at the annual salmon forecast meeting Feb. 27.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will present initial forecasts compiled by state and tribal biologists of the 2018 salmon returns at the meeting scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Lacey Community Center, 6729 Pacific Ave. S.E., Olympia.
That meeting is one of more than 20 scheduled at various locations around the state as part of each year’s salmon negotiations. A list of the meetings scheduled in 2018 can be found online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/northfalcon/
