Once-iconic Pismo clams persist in southern California at low intertidal population densities and with variable recruitment

The Pismo clam (Tivela stultorum) has experienced substantial population decline in California over the past century, extinguishing most public participation in a once-iconic recreational fishery before the end of the 20th century. A subsequent decrease in data collection has led to uncertainty about the current population status of this species. We conducted 6 years of intertidal Pismo clam population assessment surveys in Orange, San Diego, and southern Los Angeles Counties to provide a current dataset that could help guide research and management efforts in southern California. Pismo clams were observed at 19 out of 27 study sites during 57 days of surveys. Average clam bed density was low (mean 2.0 ± 1.1 clams/m2, median 0.1 ± 0.7 clams/m2, n = 21 sites), especially when considering larger clams ≥ 35 mm (mean 0.3 ± 0.1 clams/m2, median 0.1 ± 0.4 clams/m2), and varied greatly between sites (0.0–98.5 clams/m2), with Orange County densities approximately one order of magnitude lower than those in San Diego County. Juvenile recruitment was generally low or undetectable, except for consistent recruitment within a < 10 km beach area in San Diego County and a much larger, widespread recruitment event in 2022. Multi-year observations at several sites failed to indicate any consistent seasonal or inter-annual population trends. Densities and abundances were similar to recent historic data (< 30 years old), but are substantially lower than populations prior to the 1980s. We conclude that the Pismo clam persists on many southern California beaches at generally low densities and that recruitment is occurring throughout the southern California region with high spatial and temporal variability. This study provides foundational data to help inform Pismo clam conservation management decisions and to which additional monitoring, ecological research, and fishery data collection should be added.