I got a notice from F&G a couple days ago. There will be a 4 day dig from Ninilchik south, July 1st through the 4th with a 15 per day bag limit. No digging in the Clam Gulch area. Sadly I'll be out of town. Hoping my Proxy works for digging.
4 day Razor Clam dig
- Thread starter SmokeRoss
- Start date
mark knapp
Well-known member
That sounds like a great idea. Thanks for mentioning it.
kasilofchrisn
Well-known member
I predict that entire Beach that's open will be a madhouse and a zoo.
And all for 15 small clams per person!
And all for 15 small clams per person!
4merguide
Well-known member
Are you thinking they will all be small now because of the condition of the population? Because from what I remember gathering down there, there were plenty of monsters. But you're right, it will probably be a zoo. I may risk it though because I sure do miss eating clams and I have kids that love to clam too.
mark knapp
Well-known member
They are smaller than the ones across the inlet at Polly Creek. Maybe he's talking about that comparison. At least with only that part of the beach open we can protect the resource.
kasilofchrisn
Well-known member
The clam study done this spring by fish and game shows the clams to be smaller than average.
So I'm just going by the clam survey that was done by ADF&G this spring.
kasilofchrisn
Well-known member
If you read the full report on this clam opening it says that most of the clams are taking an extra year or two to reach maturity and some of them never reach maturity.
This indicates to me that there will be a lot more smaller clams than we used to get.
This indicates to me that there will be a lot more smaller clams than we used to get.
East Cook Inlet Sport Razor Clam Fisheries Open in Ninilchik Area
(Homer) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently completed the annual razor clam abundance surveys at both Clam Gulch and Ninilchik beaches. Results indicate the abundance of adult (≥80mm) clams is below the abundance threshold required to open a limited fishery at Clam Gulch and above the abundance threshold in Ninilchik. This means the sport and personal use razor clam fisheries in the Clam Gulch Area will remain closed for 2023, but there will be a limited harvest opportunity this season in the Ninilchik Area. The season will be 4 days, from Saturday, July 1 through Tuesday, July 4, 2023, and the bag and possession limits will be the first 15 clams dug. The Ninilchik Area includes all beaches along the Kenai Peninsula from 3 miles north of the Ninilchik River at latitude 60° 50.54’ N. lat. near Lemans Point south to the tip of the Homer Spit.
In March 2022, the Alaska Board of Fisheries adopted a management plan for east Cook Inlet razor clams that requires the adult clam abundance to meet or exceed 50% of the historical average abundance to open a limited harvest opportunity. The plan also identifies that the harvest in the limited fishery is not expected to exceed 10% of the total adult abundance. In the Clam Gulch Area, razor clam abundance was assessed at the north beach and the adult abundance was 520,881 clams, which was 46% below the abundance threshold to open the limited fishery in the Clam Gulch Area. In the Ninilchik Area, razor clam abundance was assessed at the south beach and the adult abundance was 322,217 clams, which was 35% above the abundance threshold to open the limited fishery in the Ninilchik Area.
Despite the fishery closure since 2015, east Cook Inlet razor clams are failing to recover to historical levels. Since the closure, there have been intermittent moderate to strong juvenile clam recruitments on the Ninilchik beaches, and more consistent strong annual juvenile clam recruitments to the Clam Gulch beaches. Clams in both areas have experienced very poor growth rates in most years, resulting in the clams taking an extra year or two to reach the adult size, or never reaching it at all. Clams in both areas are also experiencing high rates of natural mortality each winter. The strong juvenile recruitments indicate that despite the poor growth and low survival, clams are successfully spawning and settling onto the beach as juveniles. The 2023 adult clam abundance at Ninilchik is much improved over almost all the annual abundances since 2013. Unfortunately, the 2023 juvenile abundance at Ninilchik is the lowest since 2013, which indicates that there will not be a sufficient adult abundance for the fishery to open in 2024 or 2025. The 2023 juvenile and adult abundances at Clam Gulch indicate that the fishery will likely continue to remain closed over the next few years.
Given these trends, and that the anticipated effort in 2023 in the Ninilchik Area is unknown, reducing the season and bag and possession limits from the limited fishery outlined in the management plan is necessary to ensure that the harvest does not exceed 10% of the adult abundance. Maintaining a low harvest rate will allow the opportunity for the clams to rebuild while providing a small harvest opportunity on clams that have previously spawned.
“We are excited for people to have a chance to dig razor clams this summer,” said Lower Cook Inlet Area Management Biologist Mike Booz. “Unfortunately, the current status requires this opportunity to be small this year and we are not expecting the fishery to be open next year.”
For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Mike Booz or Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson at (907) 235-8191.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2023&NRID=3519
(Homer) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently completed the annual razor clam abundance surveys at both Clam Gulch and Ninilchik beaches. Results indicate the abundance of adult (≥80mm) clams is below the abundance threshold required to open a limited fishery at Clam Gulch and above the abundance threshold in Ninilchik. This means the sport and personal use razor clam fisheries in the Clam Gulch Area will remain closed for 2023, but there will be a limited harvest opportunity this season in the Ninilchik Area. The season will be 4 days, from Saturday, July 1 through Tuesday, July 4, 2023, and the bag and possession limits will be the first 15 clams dug. The Ninilchik Area includes all beaches along the Kenai Peninsula from 3 miles north of the Ninilchik River at latitude 60° 50.54’ N. lat. near Lemans Point south to the tip of the Homer Spit.
In March 2022, the Alaska Board of Fisheries adopted a management plan for east Cook Inlet razor clams that requires the adult clam abundance to meet or exceed 50% of the historical average abundance to open a limited harvest opportunity. The plan also identifies that the harvest in the limited fishery is not expected to exceed 10% of the total adult abundance. In the Clam Gulch Area, razor clam abundance was assessed at the north beach and the adult abundance was 520,881 clams, which was 46% below the abundance threshold to open the limited fishery in the Clam Gulch Area. In the Ninilchik Area, razor clam abundance was assessed at the south beach and the adult abundance was 322,217 clams, which was 35% above the abundance threshold to open the limited fishery in the Ninilchik Area.
Despite the fishery closure since 2015, east Cook Inlet razor clams are failing to recover to historical levels. Since the closure, there have been intermittent moderate to strong juvenile clam recruitments on the Ninilchik beaches, and more consistent strong annual juvenile clam recruitments to the Clam Gulch beaches. Clams in both areas have experienced very poor growth rates in most years, resulting in the clams taking an extra year or two to reach the adult size, or never reaching it at all. Clams in both areas are also experiencing high rates of natural mortality each winter. The strong juvenile recruitments indicate that despite the poor growth and low survival, clams are successfully spawning and settling onto the beach as juveniles. The 2023 adult clam abundance at Ninilchik is much improved over almost all the annual abundances since 2013. Unfortunately, the 2023 juvenile abundance at Ninilchik is the lowest since 2013, which indicates that there will not be a sufficient adult abundance for the fishery to open in 2024 or 2025. The 2023 juvenile and adult abundances at Clam Gulch indicate that the fishery will likely continue to remain closed over the next few years.
Given these trends, and that the anticipated effort in 2023 in the Ninilchik Area is unknown, reducing the season and bag and possession limits from the limited fishery outlined in the management plan is necessary to ensure that the harvest does not exceed 10% of the adult abundance. Maintaining a low harvest rate will allow the opportunity for the clams to rebuild while providing a small harvest opportunity on clams that have previously spawned.
“We are excited for people to have a chance to dig razor clams this summer,” said Lower Cook Inlet Area Management Biologist Mike Booz. “Unfortunately, the current status requires this opportunity to be small this year and we are not expecting the fishery to be open next year.”
For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Mike Booz or Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson at (907) 235-8191.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2023&NRID=3519
Patsfan, I appreciate you highlighting the part that ADFG doesn’t expect to open it next year. It seems crazy that they would open it for 4 days with a reduced limit. Open the clamming up when it’s healthy for more than four days and for more than a single season. It defies logic to harvest our way back to a recovery.
I don't think they should open it, if you want clams that bad then go across the Inlet where the population is healthy. The problem they have is the guidelines that were designated make it so they have to open the fishery. This opener will not help the short or long term viability of Eastside razor clams. It should not be opened and no one should take part in it, but many will because they can, since "the experts say we can" even while the experts are saying we shouldn't.
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. This isn't sustainable and we all know it. If you take part in an unsustainable fishery you are part of the problem.
Yep, better get'em before they're gone cause according to the people who are ensuring that less than 10% of the adult population take you won't be getting them next year! Don't forget that it's the first 15 clams you dig no matter the size. Get'em quick they won't be around to get next year since we can't stockpile them.
Or if you really need a clam fix go across the Inlet where there isn't an issue with low abundance and there's no reason to think they won't be there in harvestable numbers next year, or the years after...
And some people wonder why the Kenai King is in decline. Doomsday happened years ago, that's why there's been no clamming on the Eastside since 2015.
Fishery Management Report No. 22-03
Cook Inlet Area and Prince William Sound Area Commercial Fisheries for Shrimp and Miscellaneous
Shellfish through 2021
RAZOR CLAMS
COOK INLET AREA
Harvest and Effort
The commercial harvest of razor clams from Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) beaches dates back to 1919
(Table 16). Harvest levels have fluctuated from no fishery to production in excess of 500,000 lb.
The sporadic nature of the fishery was more a function of limited market opportunities than limited
availability of the resource. Razor clams are present in many areas of Cook Inlet, with particularly
dense concentrations occurring near Polly Creek on the western shore and from Clam Gulch to
Ninilchik on the eastern shore (Nickerson 1975).
The last year of harvest occurred in 2019, taken primarily from the Polly Creek/Crescent River
area, with no effort or harvest in 2020 and 2021. The harvest in 2019 was approximately 137,530 lb
in the shell from 16 diggers that participated (Table 17). Harvest was reported from 68 different
days between May 2 and August 6. Diggers were paid an average of $0.66/lb for their harvest,
resulting in an exvessel value of approximately $90,770.
Management and Regulations
The eastern shoreline of Cook Inlet between the Kenai River and the end of the Homer Spit has
been set aside exclusively for sport harvest since 1959, and all commercial harvests since that time
have come from the west shore, principally from the Polly Creek and Crescent River sandbar areas.
A large portion of the Polly Creek beach is approved by the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation for the harvest of clams for the human food market. Within this approved area, a
limit of 10% shell breakage is allowed and broken-shelled clams are required to be dyed prior to
being sold as bait clams. No overall commercial harvest levels are in place for any area in
regulation. However, ADF&G manages the commercial razor clam fishery to achieve a harvest of
no more than 350,000 to 400,000 lb (in the shell) annually. Virtually all of the commercial harvest
is by hand-digging, although regulations prior to 1990 allowed the use of mechanical harvesters
(dredges) south of Spring Point or within a 1-mile section of the Polly Creek beach. Numerous
attempts to develop feasible dredging operations were unsuccessful because of excessive shell
breakage or the limited availability of clams in the area open to this gear. Mechanical means of
harvesting is no longer permitted in any area of Cook Inlet.
Historically, the commercial razor clam fishery on the west side of Cook Inlet has been confined
to the area between Crescent River and Redoubt Creek (Figure 13). All clams harvested in this
area are directed, by regulation, to be sold for human consumption, except for the small percentage
(less than 10% of the total harvest) of broken clams, which may be sold for bait. Razor clams are
present throughout this area, with dense concentrations in the Polly Creek and Crescent River
areas. In the remainder of the UCI Management Area, there are no restrictions on the amount of
clams that can be sold for bait. Currently, there is no directed effort to harvest razor clams for the
bait market. The minimum legal size for razor clams is 4.5 inches (114 mm) in shell length
(5 AAC 38.075).
You can find more information here
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=razorclam.main
Does anyone realize its open on 4th of July weekend? It'll be crazy down there with all the city people swamping the area, taking 15, dumping in their truck, running back for another 15 and so on.
Tinfoil hat time - I think its set up this way so they have a good excuse to stop clamming for then next decade, open it again on a holiday weekend and then close for another decade or two.
