Rocks draped in green sea lettuce and rockweed exposed on a wide sand flat at low tide under a clear sky

Coast Guide

Everything you need before you walk down the trail: who can harvest what, how much, where it's closed, and how to leave a tidepool the way you found it. Summaries only — the agencies below are the legal word, and rules change season to season.

Roughly 60% of Washington tidelands are privately owned, so ownership matters as much as the rulebook. A shellfish/seaweed licence is required, daily limits are small, and many parks and reserves are closed to harvest entirely.

Seaweed harvest

Licence: Shellfish/seaweed licence required for anyone 15 and older.
Daily limit: 10 lb wet weight per person per day, statewide aggregate.
Method: Cut above the holdfast — never pull the whole plant off the rock.
State parks: Only Fort Worden, Fort Flagler and Fort Ebey allow seaweed harvest, and only April 16 – May 15 (WAC 352-32-350). Every other state park is closed year-round.
Closures: No harvest in aquatic reserves, Olympic National Park, tribal tidelands, or many county beaches.
Ownership: Private tidelands are common; stay below the ordinary high water line or get permission.

Tidepool etiquette

Look, don't take: Sea stars, anemones, and other invertebrates stay put — no collecting.
Rocks back down: If you flip a rock, set it back exactly as it was, animals facing down.
Where you step: Walk on bare rock and sand, not on mussel beds or barnacle mats.
Shellfish: Clams, oysters, and mussels have their own licence, limits, and biotoxin closures — check before harvest.

Shellfish & intertidal fishing

Licence: Shellfish/seaweed licence for clams, oysters and mussels; a fishing licence plus catch record card for crab.
Limits: 40 clams or 10 lb whichever first, 18 oysters, 10 lb mussels — per person, per day, and beach-specific rules override.
Oysters: Shuck oysters on the beach and leave the shells where you took them; taking shell home is illegal.
Fill your holes: Dig one hole at a time and refill it — an open hole kills the clams left in the spoil.
Biotoxin: Call 1-800-562-5632 or check the DOH beach map the day you go. Cooking does not remove PSP toxin.
Seasons: Many public beaches open only part of the year; check the WDFW beach page for that exact beach before you drive.

Guiding, classes & paid group events

Paid groups: Any tour, class or workshop you charge for on state park tidelands needs a Commercial Recreation Use permit from WA State Parks (360-902-8500).
County beaches: On Camano and Whidbey, clear organised groups with Island County Parks (360-679-7373) before you post a date.
State tidelands: Outside parks, DNR manages most state-owned tidelands — commercial use needs a use authorization.
Licences: Every participant who harvests needs their own licence; yours does not cover the group.
Selling: Wild seaweed you sell is commercial harvest, not personal use — talk to WDFW first.

Who to call in Washington

Licences, closures and the desks that approve a paid group on the beach. Select a pin on the map for the county- and park-level contacts for that exact spot. Directory verified September 2026.

Licences & permits to harvest or fish

WDFW licensing — shellfish/seaweed licence
Required for anyone 15 or older harvesting seaweed, clams, oysters or mussels. Buy online or at any licence dealer; carry it with you on the beach.
360-902-2464 Website Statewide
WDFW sport fishing rules
Saltwater and intertidal fishing: licence endorsements, catch record cards, marine area boundaries and current openings.
Website Statewide
Tribal treaty tidelands — ask the tribe
Treaty and reservation tidelands are managed by the tribe, not the state. Harvest and any organised group activity are cleared through the tribe's natural resources department, not WDFW.
Website Treaty tidelands

Shellfish safety & biotoxin closures

WA Shellfish Safety Hotline
Recorded 24/7 line for paralytic shellfish poisoning, vibrio and pollution closures. Beaches can close between one tide and the next — call the day you go.
1-800-562-5632 Website Statewide

Seasons, limits & emergency rule changes

WDFW shellfishing rules & emergency changes
Season dates, daily limits, size rules and in-season emergency rule changes for clams, oysters, mussels, crab and shrimp by beach.
1-866-880-5431 Website Statewide
WDFW sport fishing rules
Saltwater and intertidal fishing: licence endorsements, catch record cards, marine area boundaries and current openings.
Website Statewide
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
Olympic Coast, Greater Farallones, Monterey Bay, Channel Islands and Cordell Bank sanctuaries regulate collection and some commercial activity in their waters.
Website Sanctuary waters

Guiding, classes & paid group events

WA State Parks — commercial recreation & special use permits
Running a paid tour, class, workshop or organised group on state park tidelands requires a Commercial Recreation Use permit (and insurance). Apply well ahead — approvals take weeks, not days.
360-902-8500 Website State park beaches
WA DNR — state-owned aquatic lands use
Most tidelands below the high water line outside parks are DNR-managed. Commercial use, events with structures, or any wild-harvest business needs a use authorization from the regional aquatics desk.
360-902-1100 Website State-owned tidelands
Tribal treaty tidelands — ask the tribe
Treaty and reservation tidelands are managed by the tribe, not the state. Harvest and any organised group activity are cleared through the tribe's natural resources department, not WDFW.
Website Treaty tidelands
National Wildlife Refuges & National Parks
Refuge and national park shorelines (Olympic, Point Reyes, Channel Islands and the offshore rocks) have their own take rules and require a permit for any commercial guiding.
Website Federal shorelines
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
Olympic Coast, Greater Farallones, Monterey Bay, Channel Islands and Cordell Bank sanctuaries regulate collection and some commercial activity in their waters.
Website Sanctuary waters

Land manager for the beach itself

WA State Parks — commercial recreation & special use permits
Running a paid tour, class, workshop or organised group on state park tidelands requires a Commercial Recreation Use permit (and insurance). Apply well ahead — approvals take weeks, not days.
360-902-8500 Website State park beaches
WA DNR — state-owned aquatic lands use
Most tidelands below the high water line outside parks are DNR-managed. Commercial use, events with structures, or any wild-harvest business needs a use authorization from the regional aquatics desk.
360-902-1100 Website State-owned tidelands
Tribal treaty tidelands — ask the tribe
Treaty and reservation tidelands are managed by the tribe, not the state. Harvest and any organised group activity are cleared through the tribe's natural resources department, not WDFW.
Website Treaty tidelands
National Wildlife Refuges & National Parks
Refuge and national park shorelines (Olympic, Point Reyes, Channel Islands and the offshore rocks) have their own take rules and require a permit for any commercial guiding.
Website Federal shorelines

Commercial or wholesale harvest

WA DNR — state-owned aquatic lands use
Most tidelands below the high water line outside parks are DNR-managed. Commercial use, events with structures, or any wild-harvest business needs a use authorization from the regional aquatics desk.
360-902-1100 Website State-owned tidelands
WDFW commercial wild seaweed harvest
Selling wild-harvested seaweed is not covered by a personal-use licence. Commercial wild harvest is tightly restricted in WA — talk to WDFW before you sell anything you picked.
Website Statewide

WDFW regulations

True on every coast

Check the tide, then check it again: Plan an exit before the flood turns; a rising tide cuts off coves fast.
Biotoxin closures: Shellfish closures are separate from seasons and can change weekly — call the state hotline.
Tribal tidelands: Treaty tidelands are managed by the tribe, not the state. Ask first.
Take a third, leave the rest: Harvest a fraction of any patch and rotate spots so beds recover.

Reading the access tag on a pin

Every spot on the map carries an ownership tag. It decides whether the rules above even apply to you at that beach.

Public tidelands
Open to the public below the line of ordinary high tide.
State park
Managed as state park tidelands; Discover Pass may be needed to park.
County / city park
Managed as a county or city park; check posted hours.
Private tidelands
Beach is privately owned — stay below the water line or get permission.
Tribal tidelands
Tribal-managed tidelands — harvesting rules differ; check with the tribe.
Permit or pass required
Access or harvest here requires a permit, pass, or licence.
Ownership unverified
Not yet verified. In WA, roughly 60% of tidelands are privately owned — check the state's public lands map before harvesting.

Hosting a walk, class or tour

If money changes hands — tour fees, class tuition, sponsored trips, even donations — land managers treat it as commercial use, wherever you are on the coast.

Personal-use licences never cover a paid group. Each participant needs their own licence, and you need the land manager's permission on top.
Selling what you harvest is a separate commercial licence in all three states — a tour fee and a jar of dried kelp are two different permits.
Permits take weeks. Apply before you publish a date, not after people have paid.
Tribal tidelands, refuges and marine reserves can say no even when the state rules would say yes.
Call the shellfish safety hotline the morning of the walk — closures move faster than your itinerary.

What they will ask you for

Who manages the beach itself — state park, county park, DNR/state tidelands, tribe, refuge, or private owner.
Whether money changes hands: paid tours, classes, donations and sponsored trips almost always count as commercial use.
Group size and dates, including how many tides you plan to run in a season.
Proof of liability insurance naming the land manager as additional insured.
Parking and restroom plan — this is what usually sinks an application, not the harvest.
Harvest plan if the group will take anything: licences for each participant, limits, and which beds you'll rotate.
A safety brief covering sneaker waves, rising tide cut-offs, and slick rock.

The Wrack Line

Coming soon

A field guide library for the things you actually find down there — seaweeds first, then the crabs, nudibranchs, stars and everything else in the wrack. Photos, edibility, look- alikes, and which tide to find them on.

Species entries are being written now — the library opens once they're field-checked.

The long version→

Brackish & Co's full coast guide: beach-by-beach rules, protected reserves, and the fine print behind these summaries.

Tidings→

Guided walks, harvest classes and low-tide meetups happening on the coast near you.

TideEx summarises these rules in good faith and can't be responsible for regulation changes. Verify with the state agency before you harvest.