Shellfish

Metacarcinus magister

Broad reddish-purple shell, white-tipped claws. Open year-round in the bays; best after the fall molt fills the shells in winter.

A slack or low tide, once the fall molt has filled the shells.

Jan 1 – Dec 31 · peak Dec–Feb

Carcinus maenas

Invasive. Five spines beside each eye. Remove, don't return. Report to ODFW.

Jan 1 – Dec 31· Invasive: remove

Cancer productus

Heavy brick-red shell, pitch-black claw tips. Open year-round, no closed season.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Pandalus platyceros

The largest shrimp of the North Pacific: sweet, firm, near-sashimi the day it's caught. A wide-open Oregon ocean fishery for those with the boat and gear to reach deep structure.

Heavy pots on deep rocky structure (200–700 ft) and a calm-ocean day to run out.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Mesocentrotus franciscanus

The big red urchin of the rocky reefs, pried from crevices at low tide for uni, its rich golden roe. Takeable year-round, but the roe is fullest in the cold months and thin and spawned-out through summer.

A deep minus tide on rocky reef or jetty, or a dive.

Jan 1 – Dec 31 · peak Nov–Feb

Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

The small purple urchin of the low rocky intertidal, the one that has overrun Oregon's reefs into barrens. Legal to take year-round, but most are spawned-out and empty; the work is finding the rare heavy one, and thinning them helps the kelp come back.

A deep minus tide on the low rocky intertidal.

Jan 1 – Dec 31 · peak Nov–Feb

Pollicipes polymerus

Percebes: the wave-swept stalked barnacle prized above almost anything on the Iberian coast. It clusters on the most exposed rock, taken by hand between breaking sets on the lowest tides. The reward is real; so is the danger.

A big minus tide with a laid-down ocean, on wave-exposed rock.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Magallana gigas

The naturalized Pacific oyster gone wild on the bay rocks and old dikes, shucked and eaten off the tide. Firm and briny in the cold months, milky and spawning through summer. The native Olympia is the storied ghost beneath it.

A minus tide on the bay rocks, riprap, and old dikes.

Jan 1 – Dec 31 · peak Nov–Feb

Saxidomus gigantea

Thick rectangular shell, concentric rings. Sweet, firm meat from the deeper flats.

A minus tide on firm estuary flats; the butters dig deep.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Clinocardium nuttallii

Heart-shaped, ridged; shallow in the flats. Often the easiest bay dig.

A minus tide; cockles sit shallow, an easy rake.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Tresus capax

Huge chalky shell; leather siphon won't retract. Deep digs on bay flats.

Minus tide on estuary flats.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Leukoma staminea / Venerupis philippinarum

Small crisscross-textured shells, near the surface in gravelly mud.

A minus tide over gravelly mud; the Manila sits shallow.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Nuttallia obscurata

Glazed caramel shell, violet interior. Abundant and shallow, high yield.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Mya arenaria

Brittle chalky shell, spoon-shaped hinge tooth. Deep in soft estuary mud.

A deep minus tide on soft mud: a slow, deep dig.

Jan 1 – Dec 31

Siliqua patula

Long varnished oval shell on open surf beaches. Dug on minus tides.

A good minus tide, and the beach open to digging.

Oct 1 – Jul 15 · peak Jan–Mar

Mytilus spp.

Blue-black teardrop shells on rocks and pilings. Closed by quarantine in warm months.

Cold-season harvest, typically best November through April.

Nov 1 – Apr 30 · peak Nov–Feb