$35 – $60 sliding scale, children pay their age, see details.
Hug Point, Arch Cape, Oregon. Learn how to find, harvest, transport, clean, and prepare Oregon mussels, barnacles, and other edible wild plants during one of the lowest tides in 2025. Learn gathering regulations, limits and the modern tools used to gather them. We will cover some sea vegetables but only collect them if abundant and in season. The times we meet are dictated by when the tides are low enough to for us to reach the mussels. End time is just an estimate.
Each person should bring a 2025 Oregon Recreational Shellfish License – Read about licenses below. A license is mandatory for anyone 12 or older! You can print a paper version and have one downloaded to your phone via the MyODFW app. DO NOT bring a crow bar, even if you’ve used one before. It’s destructive to mussel habitat.
Recreational Shellfish Licenses are now required for anyone 12 and over to collect shellfish in Oregon. In-state licenses are $10/year, Out of state licenses are $19 for 3 days or $28/year. 3-Day licenses must specify the days you intend to do the collecting. You must carry the License with you during the workshop (in a phone app or a printed copy) or you will only be allowed to watch. If shellfish are found in your possession on the beach and you do not have a license, the fine is $80 and up. Licenses should be purchased “PRIOR” to our events by going to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife web site. DO NOT wait until the last minute! Here is how to do it:
Go to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife web site Or you may be able to do the whole thing from your phone from their “MyODFW” app. I have not tried the phone app route to pay so the directions here are only how to do it on your computer.
Wait until after January 2 of the current year.
If you are new, press: “Create an Account Today”
Create a user name & password – Record them since you will use the same account every year when purchasing a license or to open the app.
If you already have a digital account, press: “Verify/Look up your Account”
Follow the prompts.
Once an account is created click, “Purchase From the Catalog”
Type “Annual Shellfish License” in the search bar.
Click “Add” to add it to your cart. Then go to your cart to purchase.
When done, the license will be added to your, “Recreational Portfolio” for 2024. It is good until December 31 of the year you buy it.
Print out or save a pdf copy to your computer.
On your phone go to your APP Store and search for “MyODFW”. Add it to your phone apps. Load in your user name and password and it will display your license. Then if you are ever stopped by the coastal authorities you can just pull up the app.
If you have trouble understanding the process, the licensing office number is: 503-947-6101
For more information:
Call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6000.
General Clamming Information: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
Shellfish Regulations & Limits: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
Meet us at Hug Point Recreation Area parking lot – see map.: Be there before 8:45am and wait patiently. Go to the restroom and empty your bladder prior to our arrival (force yourself – it’s the last chance you will have for almost 3 hours, though bathrooms are only a 15 min walk away). Wait patiently in the parking lot in case we get delayed, get to know the other participants, read a book, change into your beach cloths and shoes. We’ll swing by soon to pick you up and proceed on to the workshop site. If you are late go down to the beach heading south and look for us. Make sure we have your cell phone number if you have one (in case of an emergency)! Program our number 503-775-3828 into your cell phone. Cell coverage is bad in the coast range and spotty along the coast. Low tide is estimated to be at around 9:55am.
If you need a ride to the coast, or prefer carpooling or caravanning, give us a call or e-mail to see if it can be arranged. This must be arranged ahead of time. Expect to pay $10 to the driver to help pay for fuel.
Sliding Scale Economics
Due to hard economic times for some, sliding scales are offered to support individual financial circumstances. We ask participants to pay what they feel they can afford within the range offered for each workshop. You decide what to pay using an honest assessment of your individual circumstances. We do not ask anyone to explain their very personal decision. The high end is a very reasonable price for these quality workshops for those who are doing well in this economy. Groups must contact us for circumstance-specific rates. Rendezvous have their own rates.
Discounts
$5 Discounts are available on our Registration Form for adult family members that attend together, persons identifying as indigenous, full time college students and scout leaders. Children (17 and under) must be accompanied by their parent(s). Children under 7 are free. Children 7 and above pay their age. Classrooms and teachers with students are not eligible for these discounts and must contact us for circumstance-specific rates. Rendezvous have their own rates.
Refund & Transfer Policies
If you cannot attend a workshop you registered for, and you contact us immediately, or at the latest, the last weekday before the event, you are entitled to a transfer or refund minus a $5 processing fee. If you do not show up the day of a workshop you registered for, you forfeit the full amount paid.
Enrollment Limited! – Advanced registration reserves you a place in the workshop. Walk-ons may be turned away if our size limit is reached. When registering by mail, assume a workshop is open unless you see a “FULL” notice posted above.
Registration
Download the REGISTRATION and WAIVER Forms. Print and fill out these forms and mail them with payment to: Wild Food Adventures, 422 SE 49th Ave, Portland, OR 97215. If there is space and your are a walk-on, bring the forms and payment with you. While you can register many times throughout the year, only a single waiver form is required per person per year (Jan 1 – Dec 31) for all our day events. Multi-day Rendezvous require an additional waiver.
Due to warming oceans, red tides have become more frequent. For the first time in 30 years (so it is rare) the whole coast was closed for about a month in 2024 to any clamming. If a major closure happens during the date of this event, we would have to cancel it. Any time we have to cancel an event, it is a huge inconvenience to all of us. A cancelled clamming workshop costs Wild Food Adventures up to two thousand dollars in time, advertising, bookkeeping, management, license fees, and refunds. It could also cost you, even if I refund all your money. If you decide to rent nearby lodging at the coast, incur travel or other expenses, or plan with other people, we cannot reimburse you or make up for any change in your plans. If we have to cancel, the only thing you can do is make the best of whatever plans you already made.