Clamming on the Kenai Peninsula is a no-go for 2020

Keep that clam gun holstered.

For the sixth straight year, clamming is prohibited on eastside Cook Inlet beaches from the mouth of the Kenai River to the tip of the Homer Spit.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which first shut down personal-use clamming in 2015, said in a statement Thursday that the harvest of razor clams would “likely delay recovery of the population.”

“Eastside Cook Inlet razor clam populations are rebuilding, but it is uncertain if the trend will continue into 2020,” the department said.

Adult razor clam abundances remained below average at Clam Gulch and Ninilchik in 2019, Fish and Game said.

The razor clam population collapsed several years ago, with a 2014 survey showing the population at Clam Gulch was 89% lower than the average and the population at Ninilchik South beach was 82% lower than the average.

Causes of the decline remain unknown, Fish and Game said.

The 2020 closure does not affect personal-use razor clam regulations on westside Cook Inlet beaches.