Two days of razor clam digging cancelled

LONG BEACH — Razor clam digging on the Long Beach Peninsula on Monday and Tuesday has been cancelled due to rising marine toxin levels.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will announced next week if digging scheduled for Wednesday through May 1 will go forward as planned.

Recent tests have found toxin levels at all ocean beaches meet health standards, but the state Department of Health wants one more test to be sure.

“In the last few days, we’ve seen increasing levels of the algae that can cause domoic acid in ocean water,’’ said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We just want to be sure razor clams are safe to eat before giving the green light on this dig.’’

Domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities. The toxin has disrupted razor clam digs along Washington’s coast over the past two years.

Low tides for the proposed digs are: Wednesday, -1.1 feet, 7:09 a.m.; April 27, -1.5 feet, 7:55 a.m.; April 28, -1.8 feet, 8:42 a.m.; April 29, -1.7 feet, 9:32 a.m.; April 30, -1.3 feet, 10:24 a.m., May 1, -0.8 feet, 11:20 a.m.