If you’re planning on clamming or taking friends and family out during Free Fishing Weekend June 1-2 and in the coming weeks, please be aware of new shellfish closures on the Oregon Coast.
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning recently sickened 21 people who collected mussels (see more information from Oregon Health Authority).
Always check the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Shellfish Closure page or call their hotline 1-800-448-2474 before clamming or crabbing. Closure information is available in English, Español, русский, 中国人, Tiếng Việt, 한국인 on ODA’s webpage.
PSP is a natural marine biotoxin produced by some species of microscopic algae. Freezing or cooking clams and mussels does not destroy PSP. Any shellfish taken recently from an area that is closed should be thrown out.
Shellfish closures can differ in the same area because shellfish respond differently to PSP. For example, mussels quickly accumulate and quickly release biotoxins while razor clams are slower to accumulate and release them.
These are the most current shellfish closures as of today, May 31, 2024:
Razor clams: The sport harvest of razor clams is CLOSED from the Yachats River to the California border for high levels of the marine biotoxins paralytic shellfish poison and domoic acid.
The sport harvest of razor clams is OPEN from the Washington border to the Yachats River.
Mussels: The sport harvest of mussels is CLOSED along the entire coast from the Washington border to the California border for high levels of paralytic shellfish toxin. Illnesses consistent with paralytic shellfish poisoning have been reported from mussels harvested from the north coast.
Bay clams: The sport harvest of bay clams is CLOSED from the Washington border to Cascade Head for elevated levels of the marine biotoxin paralytic shellfish poison. This includes all clam species in the bays.
The sport harvest of bay clams is OPEN from Cascade Head to the California border.
Crab: Sport crab harvesting is OPEN along the entire Oregon coast from the Washington border to the California border.
More about Free Fishing Weekend
Everyone can fish, clam and crab for free in Oregon on Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of June.
No fishing/shellfish licenses or tags (including a Combined Angling Tag or Columbia River Basin Endorsement or Two-Rod Validation) are required on those two days (June 1-2, 2024). Both Oregon residents and nonresidents can fish for free.
All other fishing regulations apply during Free Fishing Weekend including closures, bag limits and size restrictions.
See the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for regulations. Remember to check for any in season updates by clicking the Regulation Updates tab in the Recreation Report in your zone, especially for salmon and steelhead fishing.
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