Regulation updates as of April 10, 2018
These are in-season regulation changes adopted on a temporary or emergency basis. Please see e-regulations for permanent regulations.
Effective Mar. 16, 2018, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission issued a three year temporary closure for harvest of abalone in Oregon. The season had been temporarily suspended since Jan. 1 due to concerns over the health of Oregon abalone population and potential increases in fishing effort. This temporary closure will allow for assessment of Oregon’s abalone population and coordination with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has also closed fishing of red abalone. The closure also provides more time for kelp beds, which produce drift kelp upon which red abalone feed, to recover from adverse ocean conditions and other factors.
Harvest of scallops remains open and permits for scallops remain available, per the 2018 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.
For your safety, call the Oregon Department of Agriculture Shellfish Safety Hotline before harvesting clams or mussels at 1-800-448-2474 or
check their website.
The popular Clatsop County beaches are open to razor clamming. Expect to find fewer, but larger, clams.
Fall and winter harvesting of razor clams can be a challenging endeavor. Unlike the spring and summer, low tides are in the evenings and at night when visibility is poor or nonexistent. Typical to the Oregon coast, the fall and winter brings large storm events which keep the razor clams from ‘showing’ as readily and can also be a safety risk with surging water and debris on the beach. Make sure to monitor swell and surf advisories as well as predicted wind prior to harvesting. Combined seas greater than 10 feet and winds greater than 20mph will make harvesting difficult for all, including the most experienced harvester.
Bay clamming is open along the entire Oregon Coast from the Columbia River to the California border. Check out the Where to Clam articles for places to find them.
This upcoming month we will see some good negative afternoon/evening tides, providing some daylight for clamming opportunities. Remember to always exercise caution when going out to clam at night.
Always call the ODA shellfish safety hotline at 1-800-448-2474 or ODA shellfish closures website before harvesting for the most current information about shellfish safety closures.
Mussel harvest is open along the entire Oregon coast.
Crabbing in Coos Bay has been moderate within the bay. Dock crabbing has slowed down as has ocean crabbing out of Charleston. Alsea Bay boat crabbing has been good, while dock crabbing in Alsea has been fair to poor and better with longer soak times. Bay crabbing in Yaquina Bay has slowed down for Dungeness crab.
