Southeast geoduck season set at 264,000 pounds, first opening planned Oct. 7

Southeast Alaska divers can take 264,000 pounds of geoduck clams this season, down sharply from 443,600 a year ago, Fish and Game said Tuesday.

The season opens by rule Oct. 1, with the first actual opening planned for Oct. 7, pending tests for the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. The state sets the yearly harvest at 2 percent of the estimated stock, because geoducks live a long time and reproduce only in low, irregular bursts. Kelp Island carries the largest share at 136,500 pounds.

Three areas stay closed this year after their clam populations fell below 30 percent of the original estimates: Saint Nicholas Channel, North Lulu Island, and Biorka Channel. Sea otters eating the clams is a documented part of that decline.

The fishery generally runs Wednesdays and Thursdays out of Ketchikan and closes over the holidays, from late November into December and again from mid-December into January.