Razor clam

Ensis spp.

?: Under review How we work out the ratings

What to check for

Location

England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Technical location

Atlantic, Northeast, Irish Sea, Porcupine Bank, English Channel, Bristol Channel, Celtic Seas, West and Southwest of Ireland, North Sea, West of Scotland

Caught by

Hand-gathering (shore)

Rating summary

For more information about this rating please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/razor-clams.php

How we worked out this Rating

There is very little information available about razor clams in the UK. There is concern for the biomass and fishing pressure due to lack of data.The species’ caught as razor clams in the UK (Ensis siliqua and Ensis arcuatus, also known as Ensis magnus) are data limited due to the lack of data relating to biomass and fishing pressure.Razor clams are assessed as having low vulnerability to fishing pressure (10 out of 100). However, they have slow growth rates and their populations take a long time to recover. Intense harvesting has been shown to impact community structure, resulting in very slow rebuilding timeframes. Once fished, razor clam beds can be re-colonised, but only if there are sufficient clams in surrounding areas.No stock assessments are undertaken for razor clams and there are no reference points available to assess the stock status. Therefore, there is concern for biomass.The only information about fishing pressure is from reported landings data, total catch levels from hand and dive gathering are unknown. There are no reference points for fishing pressure. Therefore, there is concern for fishing in UK waters.There is limited information available about hand harvesting of razor clams around the Welsh coast. However, there have been concerns about overfishing and high exploitation levels on intertidal beds around Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr.