Geoduck fishery closed; PSP testing suspended

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Tuesday that the Southeast Alaska commercial geoduck clam fishery has been canceled this week.

The Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association geoduck committee recommended that there be no live geoduck clam fishery until the committee’s normally scheduled meeting on February 14^th.

The committee also unanimously voted to suspend paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) testing until that time.

During the Feb. 14^th meeting, the SARDFA geoduck committee will discuss concerns with officials from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation over the situation with China and current geoduck clam sampling protocols for PSP and arsenic.

Chinese authorities say they detected PSP and arsenic in geoducks from Ketchikan and Washington state. In December, China banned shellfish imports from the Pacific Northwest.