The Alaskan razor clam harvest this year is expected to dip this year to around 175,940 pounds, a decline of more than 380,000 pounds from five years ago.
The harvest has been on a downhill slide over the last few years from 284,800 pounds in 2016 to 177,147 pounds in 2017.
Pat Shields, a regional management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game told The National Fisherman that the drop in production could be due to a drop in the number of diggers.
“There are fewer diggers working,” Shields said. “They used to average around 20 to 22 diggers per year, and now they’re down to something like 14 to 15.”
In 2018, razor clam revenues were just over USD 175,000 (EUR 152,779) for food-grade clams, the majority of which are sold to retail markets on the West Coast of the United States, and just over USD 2,000 (EUR 1,746) for razor clams that were used for bait.
At the same time, Alaskan scallop harvesters are in the process of harvesting the statewide 265,000 pound (shucked meat) guideline harvest level (GHL).
The season began on 1 July and the GHL has been boosted from last year’s level of 238,710 pounds. The vast majority of the state’s scallop harvest comes from the Yakutat area, with the majority of the remaining 85,000 pounds being harvested in and around Kodiak.
While in past years scallops were also harvested in Cook Inlet, the area was closed this year to help preserve the biomass. Just a pair of scallop dredgers make up the state’s fleet, but an analysis submitted to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council called for a third boat to be added if it was expected to be profitable for the owners.
Photo courtesy of Alaska Department of Fish and Game
