Audrey Richardson

With practiced hands wrapped around a shovel, Cleve Jackson drives into the sand, digging down just enough to find a fresh razor clam. Strength, skill and generational knowledge keep this cherished tradition alive.

“Razor clamming feeds us, it nourishes us,” said Jackson, a policy spokesperson for Quinault Indian Nation’s Fisheries. “It’s not only for our health but it’s our way of life, spiritually.”

That way of life was disrupted in June when shellfish poisoning made at least 31 people ill in Oregon. Consequently, recreational shellfish harvesting was closed in Oregon and Washington. The FDA released warnings in both states.

“Our diggers were scared,” Jackson said. “We were getting calls left and right saying, ‘Are our clams OK?’ ”

With coastal tribes heavily affected by harvesting closures, a Forks-based University of Washington program is partnering with Washington tribes to bolster responses to crises and improve monitoring methods. The collaboration involves hands-on training and research to develop tests that provide advance warning of harmful toxins.

Vera Trainer, an aquatic sciences director at UW’s Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms program, or ORHAB, says this work is being done at a critical time, as climate change brings “new and more harmful algae across the world.” Warmer temperatures, especially in the summertime, heighten algal bloom frequency and intensity in the region, she said.

While not all algal blooms are harmful, shellfish can become poisonous when algal blooms produce dangerous chemical compounds that can bioaccumulate in shellfish.

Anthony Odell, research analyst lead at the UW program, has helped train more than 20 members of local tribes to collect samples, identify algal species and detect toxins. He travels through the Olympic Region in “Big Red,” a 1993 Ford F350, several times a month to visit tribal partners.

On his way, sun cuts through the dense Hoh Rain Forest as he heads north of Forks. Winding through vast and prolific nature on a visit this month, he occasionally stopped for fresh fish along the shores of Neah Bay and Tahola as he traveled to visit harmful algal bloom specialists. 

His first student was Dawn Radonski of the Quinault Nation in 2002. Radonski, now the harmful algal blooms specialist for Quinault Tribe, tests water from Copalis Beach, Quinault Reservation Beach and Mock Rocks Beach twice a week. In Quinault’s lab, she’s known not only for her sampling skills, but her stellar slow-cooked razor clams too.

“Quinault people eat a lot of clams,” said Joe Schumacker, a marine resources scientist for the tribe. “Especially Dawn’s clams. They’re extraordinary.”

The Quinault Nation hopes to keep the community safe and ensure the tradition of razor clamming can thrive. Schumacker wants to spread the message of how serious harmful algal blooms can be, noting the importance of having tribal members involved in testing and monitoring.

“We want to keep a tribal member doing this,” Schumacker said. “That’s a real key. All of this scientific expertise is key to bringing that message back to the tribes and the coastal communities.”

Following a major toxic harmful algal bloom plankton event in 1998 that led to a yearlong razor clam harvesting ban, ORHAB aimed to work with tribes to develop rapid toxin testing.

Since the program trained Radonski, the relationship between tribes and ORHAB has flourished. Tribes now have the training and resources to run tests themselves while providing ORHAB with vital information of what’s in the water. Both work together to protect thousands of people in the region.

“It means a lot to us because it helps us learn more about the environmental impacts that are on our treaty-protected resources,” said Bernard Afterbuffalo, Hoh Tribe’s fisheries technician.

“They all reach out to me and ask, how are the shellfish doing today? They actually rely on the data more than I expected them to.”

Twenty-five years after ORHAB was created, the program now collaborates with four tribes in the region: Hoh, Quinault, Quileute and Makah.

“It’s amazing to have people out there and really caring about public health and caring about the environment and happy to work with the tribe on all of this,” said Lizz Miller, Makah’s water quality specialist. “The cooperation between the two is beautiful in a lot of ways. It means everything.”

In 2015, one of the biggest harmful algal blooms in coastal history led to significant harvesting closures. The culprit was domoic acid, the same toxin that caused the 1998 closures. ORHAB implemented a rapid test that is now used across Washington and Oregon’s coasts, allowing for quick assessments.

The test is one level of security for safer clam digging. All coastal communities are required to submit shellfish samples to the Washington Department of Health. Two samples under the toxin threshold within 10 days secures the green light for shellfish harvesting.

Sending samples to the lab is slow and costly for the tribes. If there isn’t someone to drive several hours to the Department of Health laboratories in Shoreline, overnight shipping can cost upward of $200. On-site rapid testing empowers local tribes to obtain a quick assessment of what’s in the water. However, tribes are still required to send samples to Shoreline.

If high toxin levels are detected in the on-site rapid tests, the Department of Health can prioritize that sample, said Trainer, the marine program director. “So, if we see toxin out here, they’re going to put that sample first,” she said, adding that the department can receive hundreds of samples daily.

When domoic acid was first identified as a problem, high levels led to blanket closures, said Miller, Makah’s water quality specialist. “There was no confidence in any of the shellfish.” But, she added, because of the rapid tests, “that is so rare now.” 

ORHAB scientists attribute that shift to tracking upticks in blooms, essential for preparing for and mitigating widespread harvesting closures.

Responding to the June closure, ORHAB began working on a rapid toxin test. Because a toxin different from domoic acid was present, a new rapid test was needed.

The team ran a trial of the new test in early August that yielded inconclusive results.

“Science doesn’t always work the first time,” Trainer said. “It’s a work in progress, but I’m confident we’re going to get it going.” 

Thousands of species can make up an algal bloom, but only one in this region causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, which was what sickened people in Oregon this year and led to those extensive closures. That species: Alexandrium catenella.

Just 20 to 80 micrometers small, or five times thinner than a blade of grass, the cells of Alexandrium catenella are armored with clear cellulose plates and boast microscopic flagella that allow them to swim to varying depths to seek out ideal conditions.

In simpler terms, it looks “like a little rusty cheeseburger,” Odell said.

As bloom frequency increases, ORHAB and the tribes strive to stand against future microscopic menaces in Washington through new advancements.

While continuing to strengthen existing relationships, Odell and Trainer hope to expand ORHAB’s work to include more partners to empower and support communities that rely on safe shellfish harvesting.

Five minutes from Quinault’s laboratory, in the town of Taholah, a sizzling barbecue attracts hungry workers leaving their afternoon shifts. The crackling sound of a clam fritter slapping on the grill whets appetites as Quinault Nation’s Rex McCrory prepares a hearty meal.

Providing decadent sides of baked beans and potato salad, McCrory said he usually sells out by early evening.

“I’d say 80% of our community digs. It provides not only money, but food too,” he said. “They are a big life source to our community.”