Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest

by David Berger

In this lively history and celebration of the Pacific razor clam, David Berger shares with us his love affair with the glossy, gold-colored Siliqua patula and gets into the nitty-gritty of how to dig, clean, and cook them using his favorite recipes. In the course of his investigation, Berger brings to light the long history of razor clamming as a subsistence, commercial, and recreational activity, and shows the ways it has helped shape both the identity and the psyche of the Pacific Northwest.

Towing his wife along to the Long Beach razor clam festival, Berger quizzes local experts on the pressing question: tube or gun? He illuminates the science behind the perplexing rules and restrictions that seek to keep the razor clam population healthy and the biomechanics that make these delicious bivalves so challenging to catch. And he joyfully takes part in the sometimes freezing cold pursuit that nonetheless attracts tens of thousands of participants each year for an iconic "beach-to-table" experience.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published September 12, 2017

Reviews

[Monty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you come across a book that’s just about one thing - one very specific thing - and even if you have no prior interest in the topic, you have to pick it up, if only to see how the author was able to fill so many pages. Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest by David Berger was one such book. Its simple, charming cover and promise of nearly two hundred pages of authentic molluscan action called to me… though I barely knew what a razor clam was, despite living in the Pacific Northwest now for about a year. Despite my unfamiliarity with the clam and its admirers, I came away from this book with a deeper appreciation for a quintessentially Northwestern experience. The author’s conversational and down-to-earth tone turns topics that could have been dry as dust in the wrong hands into points of fascination and amusement - meditations on razor clam locomotion and whether a “clam gun” properly refers to a shovel or a tube, for instance. It felt less like reading a nonfiction book and more like talking with a family friend who’s sharing their latest discoveries about an uncommon hobby. Photos, drawings, and recipes both modern and historic intersperse the text and bring the pursuit of the clam to life. Above all, Berger’s genuine passion and affection for the mollusk and the activity was infectious. I’ve never even seen a razor clam, but after reading this book I’m now asking around to see if someone can take me clamming and show me the ropes. Who knows - maybe I’ll even get to try out one of the recipes.

[riellegut · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone that has gone razor clamming a few times, it was intriguing to learn more about the history surrounding razor clams in Washington. The recipes were fun to read and I recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about them!

[L.A. Heberlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have any experience of razor clamming, you’ll love this book. If you’ve never even heard of razor clams, you’ll find yourself, by the end of this book, wishing you were on a beach at low tide with a shovel, or better yet, just back from the beach with a sauté pan and a bit of butter.

I’ll never forget the first time I chased a clam. I grew up in Colorado, as did my father and his six brothers. One brother came through Seattle in World War II, and like many a serviceman, found himself with no desire to return to the Great American Desert after he’d seen somewhere green. We loved visiting Uncle Fred in Seattle. Hydroplanes on Lake Washington. Eating at Ivar’s. Seeing the Space Needle. Wild blackberries. (All you could eat, and these were the sweet native berries, not the Himalayan weeds. Just reach out and grab food growing wild. Until not only half your face but half your arms were purple.) Ferries. Giant freighters. Uncle Fred took us to two clam beaches. On the rocky one you could pick up butter clams, an activity a lot like hunting mushrooms: gradually acquiring pattern recognition, coming to be able to differentiate the clam from the rocks all around it. On the sandy beach you could hunt razor clams. Uncle Fred said they should be called “racer” clams, because they were so fast. You see a little dimple in the sand, the mark that a clam is breathing under there. Ready? Dig for it! But the moment you start, the clam will start digging, too, fast as he can, down away from you. It’s a race. Great fun for any twelve-year-old boy, ending face down on the wet sand, arm down in the hole, straining to get your grip around him before he gets away. Berger captures that thrill, makes it clear why people will line up in the freezing wet dark on the beach for a chance at a low tide.

The book is expertly composed. Berger gives us just enough biology, just enough history. The book would be worth picking up only for its treatment of the problem of managing a wild natural resource and the people who want to exhaust it. Every chapter ends with recipes. Eating the clams, as Berger says, is the point. And you can’t just go to the corner store and get some. The book has lots of local color, pictures of giant clam sculptures, and detailed instructions on how to get started, but at heart it’s the story of the clam race told by one who fell under the spell of siliqua patula.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typo in the graph on page 105. The year 1991 is supposed to have 0 digger trips charted, but I see a dot near the 50,000 mark. The graph is also too small. If you're going to publish a graph in the book, ensure the data is accurate and easy to read.

I'm going to critique page 91 of Chapter 6: The Era of NIX and Domoic Acid:

Vine Deloria Jr. posited in his “Indians of the Northwest” book that the Native fishers were terribly small in number compared to the crush of non-Native American crowds that were hundreds of thousands strong who came to partake of PNW marine life as recreation, not for commercial gain.

Keep in mind that habitats were being destroyed to accommodate non-Native people’s beach properties in addition to denting the clam and salmon population. Efforts to own the beach were not undisputed between Native tribes and non-Native property seekers.

This “Razor Clams” chapter is “baloney” because it fails to highlight how post-colonial property expansion also put marine habitat at risk.

Also, there’s simply NO way the Native people were out-fishing non-Native fishers and left nothing to share with them. Non-Native fishers and police blamed Native people for fishing troubles and they’d confiscate their fishing boats, which were old and run-down, and would definitely be unable to compete with a maintained fleet of commercial fishing boats belonging to non-Native fishers.

Berger outlines only ONE “violation” against the Washington indigenous people, but he fails to mention the decades upon decades of WA fishers and authorities committing violations, property sabotage, injustice, racism, and even savage bodily harm upon Native fishers and protesters.

Boldt honored the treaties, yes, but there was no single violation committed against Native people regarding fishing rights.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

PNW residents and razor clam enthusiasts alike will appreciate this easy read that covers the natural history, human relationships, regulatory frame work, and cuisine of our local delicacy. Berger even wades into controversial discussions about clam guns, maybe settling the age old dispute (is a gun a shovel or a tube?). Most importantly, this book has recipes for razor clams! No more scouring the internet and adapting steamer clam recipes for razor clams. Makes me long for the next clam season!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never gone razor clamming before but have watched countless numbers of people do it on the Washington coast. I was presented with the opportunity to do a little razor clamming myself soon and wanted to know more about the whats and the hows. This is an interesting book that definitely has that information as well as history of the local areas and of the management of the clams by fish and wildlife as well as the studies that go into preserving their populations. Sprinkled with razor clam recipes and written in more of a narrative style than informational, this book was a satisfying read.

[Audrey Sauble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a lot of fun. It’s a light-weight history of clamming along the Washington coast, mixed with a lot of the author’s own experiences. I’d never considered clamming before, but kind of want to now, after reading this book.

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really chatty. It contains a wealth of information and I'm glad I read it, but I didn't expect it to be so chatty.

[Rae]

Oregon/Washington coast. Clam digging. Tidal ecology. State regulations. Memories of my childhood.

[Jessica Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie: this is the book I read to put me to sleep every night for months. As the title suggests…it’s literally just about clams.

I found it to be engaging and conversational, even as I had a hard time pinpointing the genre: Berger clearly researched heavily and even tagged along for field research trips (see the extensive endnotes for proof). But it felt like a lot of circumstantial evidence mixed in with quotes from scientists (“I saw a clam somersault in the air! Now here is a chart of clamming licenses sold every year since the 1920s.”)

Highly varied in a way that makes this book fun: personal anecdotes, recipes, drawings from the author, interviews with scientists, field research trips, clamming with friends.

Not a bad book. 3.5 stars, almost 4.

[Ken Camp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great study in depth

This is the definitive work on razor clams and hunting them in the Pacific Northwest. Filled with history, facts and folklore. Packed with recipes