Shellfish / Estuary Clam
Shellfish: Estuary Clam
Nuttallia obscurata
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Open
Year-round
No pronounced peak. Abundant shallow estuary invader whose meat quality is largely flat; mild cold-water firming at most.
signal · Bay water temp, salinity. (assumed)
Plate No. 039 · Finley & Bohlman
Take freely, it helps
Introduced from Asia and superabundant: a generous daily limit, and no native clam bed suffers for your bucket. Dig freely; you won't make a dent.
The read
Glazed caramel shell, violet interior. Abundant and shallow, high yield.
Field notes
Introduced and everywhere: packed shallow (top 2–8 in) in the softer mud high in the estuary, often under a mat of gravel. You can limit out of one small patch. Hand-dig or fork the upper mud on a minus tide.
Glossy caramel shell, violet inside, thin enough to crack if you dig rough. The catch is grit and a faint mineral-bitter note: a hard purge, a day or two in clean salt water changed often, is not optional. Take only firm, tight-shut clams; the thin shell means many break.
Unmistakable: the varnished caramel-brown sheen and purple interior. No native bay clam looks lacquered.
Shellfish license (12+). Its own daily limit, well above the bay aggregate; confirm the current number with ODFW.
Confirm the area is open before you dig. Abundant and shallow: easy to over-take, so dig what you'll purge and eat.
Purge hard, then mince for fritters, chowder, or a fast sauté; the soft meat cooks in a minute. Not a raw or steamer clam.
Where to find it
What we watch: live feeds
What informs Purple Varnish Clam in particular. The shared feeds it reads (tides, weather, water temp) are the live feeds above.
No sources keyed specifically to Purple Varnish Clam yet. See the shellfish sources →