Guide
Shellfish closures, explained
Checked September 11, 2026 against the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
Call the ODA shellfish hotline before you dig or crab: 1-800-448-2474. It is updated the moment toxins reach the closure limit, which can be before this page or any website catches up.
Why things close
Natural algae blooms put toxins into shellfish: domoic acid and paralytic shellfish toxin. You cannot see, smell or taste them, and cooking or freezing does not remove them. ODA tests samples along the coast and closes harvesting where toxins reach the limit.
Closures follow the coastline, not the county
ODA names each closure by landmarks, such as “from Cape Blanco to the California border.” The board reads those landmarks and tells you which side your town is on. A town within about two miles of a boundary is shown the stricter side, and a closure ODA words in a way we cannot place is shown to every town, marked as a guess. When that happens, the hotline settles it.
Four separate answers
- Razor clams, mussels, bay clams and crab are tested and opened or closed separately. One can be closed while the others are open.
- Crab: ODA says to always gut the crab and throw away the “butter” before cooking, and to throw away the cooking liquid rather than using it in anything.
- Scallops are not sampled. Do not eat them whole; only the adductor muscle does not build up toxins.
- Softshell clams carry a separate Oregon Health Authority advisory, coastwide, for naturally occurring arsenic.
How long a closure lasts
To reopen, ODA needs two samples in a row below the limit, taken at least a week apart. So a closure lasts at least a week, and often much longer.
Store-bought and restaurant shellfish
Commercial shellfish is tested separately and ODA says it remains safe while sport harvest is closed.
If you get sick
See a doctor and report it to your county health department. Domoic acid symptoms usually start within a day or two and can include vomiting, dizziness, confusion and short-term memory loss. Paralytic shellfish toxin acts within hours: tingling or numbness, loss of coordination, and in bad cases paralysis. Paralysis is an emergency: call 911.
Licenses, seasons and where to go
Licenses, seasons and limits are set by ODFW, not ODA, and are not on this board. See ODFW’s southwest zone crabbing and clamming page and where to crab and clam in Coos Bay.