
Hunting geoducks on public beaches with good upland access can be a crowded affair and should be pursued after developing some experience harvesting other species. To view the tide chart, visit the WDFW website. The next lowest tides for geoduck will occur from July 11–16 and August 9–13. Upcoming low tides: Sunday, June 12, minus-2.0 feet at 9:48 a.m. In fact, some of the lowest tides of the late spring/summer are just on the horizon for Puget Sound/Hood Canal. Geoduck tides occur about a dozen times per year when daylight tides are minus-2.0 feet or lower. After ten years, geoduck have very few natural predators except humans or disease. Most significant growth occurs before age 14. However, commercially grown intertidal geoduck are usually harvested after 5 years of age. The oldest wildstock clam verified by WDFW was 173 years old. Geoduck are the charismatic megafauna of the intertidal clam world. The geoduck is the largest shellfish found on Washington beaches.
#Geo duck diving wa how to
In this last of a four-part weekly series, we focus on how to harvest, store, and prepare geoduck and varnish clams. In Puget Sound and Hood Canal, harvesting seasons vary by beach and there is a plethora of delicious species to discover.


Razor clams are only found on the outer coast because they require a high wave energy sandy beach to survive, and the recreational season usually occurs in fall through spring of year. Washington’s inner-marine tidelands of Puget Sound and Hood Canal and coastal beaches host many varieties of clams. Bivalve shellfish are a nutritious local protein.

With over 350 open areas and about 275 low tides per year, there are endless opportunities to harvest shellfish on public lands. Here in Washington, we are lucky to live somewhere where we can forage delicious, healthy seafood from publicly owned tidelands. In this last of a four-part weekly series, we’ll dig deep into details on the fabled geoduck and the non-native varnish clam that can be harvested on some Puget Sound and Hood Canal beaches
