An approximate 69% of adult razor clams at Ninilchik beaches and 84% at Clam Gulch beaches have died. The department said the cause of the high natural mortality rate of the clams remains unknown, but may be due to a combination of heavy surf, habitat changes, environmental stressor and predation.

This marks the sixth straight year of the personal-use razor clam shutdown.

A winter storm lashed the sandy beaches at the mouth of the Ninilchik River with ferocious waves, powerful enough to uproot thousands of razor clams.