Commercial shellfish harvesting may not be restricted, based on selected testing of shellfish lots. It is important to know the difference between butter clams and other species of clams.
Butter clams have the ability to retain toxin for a very long time - up to a year or more.
Areas may be closed for the sport harvest of butter clams when all other species are safe and open. This booklet has pictures and descriptions of the common shellfish found in Puget Sound including butter clams. The Strait of Juan de Fuca from Dungeness spit west and the ocean beaches are closed to the sport harvest of all species of molluscan shellfish from April 1 to October 31 each year. All areas are closed for the sport harvest of scallops. The following closures do not apply to crab and shrimp.