I have lived out in the PNW since I was a young kid, and have mixed feelings about clamming and gathering food on the inland beaches or out on the Pacific Coast - I see alot of folks out with their families, having a great time, pulling up their quotas, good for them. I've also seen an a-hole or two filling a 5 gallon bucket with dozens of clams over their quota, and unfortunately calling the authorities doesn't get much of a response, the one time the F&W guy showed up in time he was driving up the beach and the a-hole spilled his bucket into the surf, evidence washed away. I'd like to think maybe they need the food to eat, but mostly they are razor clams, a 15 quota will get you a good meal with friends but won't really put food on the table. Most likely the clams end up on some restaurant's menu or sold from the back of the guy's truck (oh yeah, these are the guys who drive on the beach; before Gov Dixie Lee Ray we didn't allow driving on beaches, now they do it to make the beaches more accessible to those with disabilities, however these yahoos don't have any disabilities I can see, physical anyway - but I digress...)

I don't know what the policy is on harvesting beaches up on Vancouver Island, that's Canada, and the red tide signs might be legit or they might be someone's way of keeping some of the harvest on the beach to reproduce, overharvesting can be a problem. Red tides are serious stuff, most of it from local pollution etc - too many septic systems too close to the shore if you ask me. In Washington we share beaches with indigenous people, who have harvested seafood from beaches for thousands of years, and they have the right to do so still, no worries from me. If you find yourself back that way I would ask some locals if the red tide is current, if it is then eat at a restaurant, they'll get their clams from somewhere safe, if not get a permit or license and a clam gun and eat up, there's lots of good nutrition on the beach.