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Post by Admin on Dec 12, 2015 5:38:58 GMT
The persistent rainfall generated during the winter of 1996 killed thousands of bay clams. Oregon's bay clams may share the same fate as the bay clams of the 1996 flood if the bays are flooded with seasonal rainfall in the next several months. It is something to consider. Only time will tell Bill
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emily
New Member
Some people feel the rain, others just get wet. -BD
Posts: 1
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Post by emily on Dec 18, 2015 19:34:28 GMT
This is an interesting (and anxiety-inducing) point! Does the persistent rainfall cause mortality because clams can't siphon and breathe? Or is it because of salinity being way off?
I'm brand new to the pacific northwest; a recent transplant from the (very land-locked) state of Montana where I lived the last 6 years. I grew up in the greater Philadelphia area. I've always been a hobby forager. For me, there's something so humanly gravitational in caring for and being a steward of our wonderful and diverse ecosystems and then enjoying the bounty they give back to you! The stained fingers from black walnuts; naps in the summer sun with a belly full of raspberries; the sound of mussels simmering on the stove; the deep charcoal earthy smell of black morels; the intense stare of a grizzly guarding his quadrant of the huckleberry patch...
In any event, I'm headed to Newport today to reconnect with the sea. My darling beau got us weekend AirBnB a smidge north of Waldport. While I've done a ton of reading on clamming and crabbing around the area (many thanks to your written works, Bill)- I know there's no substitution for time in the saddle. License check. Crab rings check. Hip waders check. Layers check. Shovels and buckets. Check. Insatiable desire to get wet and dirty and learn as much as I can? Double check.
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Post by Admin on Dec 23, 2015 1:19:37 GMT
Dear Emily, welcome to the wonders of shellfish harvest and crabbing. To answer you question, periods of extended rainfall that flood Oregon's bays with freshwater threaten saltwater dependent clams in several ways.
Saltwater clams in Oregon's bays consist of gaper clams, cockles, butter clams, Manila clams and littleneck clams. When the seasonal rainfall floods costal river watersheds and the volume of freshwater moving through the watershed dominates the incoming tide for extended periods of time the salinity may fall to a low enough level to challenge the existence of saltwater dependent clams. The low salinity in combination with low water temperature further complicates the clams chance for survival.
The floods of 1996 was the last time Yaquina Bay experienced a major clam die off. The water in the flooded bay did not move during the outgoing tide there was so much water in the bay.
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Post by Admin on Feb 6, 2016 18:14:04 GMT
Clam diggers report the population of purple varnish clams in our bay declined over this winter. We believe the decline is the result of coast wide flooding that occurred last December. The early morning tides beginning this spring will revel the impact on our native clam species.
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