Two razor clam digs were scheduled for this month on ocean beaches, but Washington state shellfish managers have cancelled them after learning that toxin levels in the clams are not at all safe for human consumption.

A dig was to open on Friday and another on May 22. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife cancelled the digs after fearing potential harms that could be caused by the high level of domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae.

This is not the first time when digs have been cancelled by the agency as three days of a four-day dig was cancelled just last week because of high toxin levels.

Domoic acid can be harmful if ingested in good quantities. The acid gets stored in fat cells of razor clams, said Washington's coastal shellfish manager, Dan Ayres.

According to Ayres, the sudden rise in toxin levels is most likely the cause of warm water temperature. The rise in toxin level also caused a hiatus in clam and mussel harvesting on Northern Oregon beaches last week.

“We’re disappointed to close early, but it has been a remarkable season for razor clam digging in Washington. We’ve had healthy and abundant clam populations that have drawn thousands of visitors to our ocean beaches”, said Ayres in a statement.

Since the season began in October, nearly 5.7 million razor clams have been harvested. The detection of high levels of domoic acid happened for the first time in 1991.

It has been confirmed by test results conducted this week that it’s not safe to eat razor clams for at least the next few weeks.