I
ONEGON
OREGON
srP
r98/
161981
tP 16
STATELIBBARY
LRAY
INVESTIGATION
I SH INVESTIGATION
SHELLFISH
STIELLF
REPORT
INFORMATION REPORT
INFORMATION
FISHERY
CLAJ'I
1984
RAZOR CLAN
FISHERY
i984 MZOR
o
BY
BY
LINK
TERRY LINK
TERRY
o
o
I\'ILDLIFE
AND WILDLIFE
OF FISH AND
OREGON DEPARTMENT
OF
DEPARTI'.'IENT
OREGON
REGION
MARINE
M A R I N EREGION
a
o
o
March
1985
M a r c h1985
o
I ON
I NTRODUCT
INTRODUCTION
o
were
R
( T i 1 ' t a m o oHead
t o Columbia
Hke a dto
C o l u m b i River)
a i v e r ) were
Razor
B e a c h(Tillamook
f r o m Clatsop
C l a t s o pBeach
c l a n s from
R a z o rclams
r e s t of
of
t h e rest
e r i o d i c a l 1 ythe
arn d p
t h r o u g hS
e p t e m b eand
March
September
periodically
a r c hthrough
f r o mM
e j u ' l a r 1 yfrom
ssampled
a m p l e drregularly
on
d a t a on
t o obtain
o b t a i n data
i n t e r v i e w e dto
w e r einterviewed
dli g g e r swere
y e a r . Sport
c o m m e r c j adiggers
a n dcommercial
S p o r t and
tthe
h e year.
o
beacho t h e r beachf r o m other
D a t afrom
a r e a . Data
h a r v e s tarea.
d u gand
a n dharvest
number,
of
o f clams
c l a m sdug
composition
n u m b e r age
,d g €composition
wastage
R a n d o wastage
m
p e r m i t t e d . Random
t ' i m epermitted.
a s time
c o l l e c t e das
H e a dwere
w e r ecollected
T i l l a m o o kHead
es
o f Tillamook
e s south
s o u t h of
psr o j e c t s are
are
j s c e l l a n e o uprojects
otherm
a n dother
c o l l e c t e dand
and
miscellaneous
w
s a m p l e were
s e r ecollected
a g e - l e n g t hsamples
a n d age-length
o
reported.
reported.
FI SI-IERY
SPORT
FISHERY
SPORT
Beach
Clatsop
C 1a t s o pBeach
wh'ich
c l a m swhich
1 6 9 , 0 0 0clams
o f 169,000
p r o d u c e daa harvest
h a r v e s t of
The
a n dsummer
s u r n r n fishery
e
f ri s h e r y produced
T
h e spring
s p r i n g and
o
trips.
d i g g e rtrips.
1 2 , 3 6 5digger
l o w12,365
r e c o r dlow
o n aa record
included
t a k e non
c l a n s , taken
w a s t e dclams,
1 5 , 0 0 0wasted
i n c l u d e d15,000
The
The
most
t h e most
w e r ethe
a n d55 were
A r e a s33 and
1 2 . 5 . Areas
p e r digger
w a s12.5.
t r i p was
d i g g e rtrip
average
c l a m sper
or f clams
n u m b eof
a
v e r a g enumber
o
trips.
d j g g e rtrips.
t h e digger
a f the
a n d69%
6 9 %of
d u gand
c l a m sdug
productive,
7 3 %of
o f clams
p r o d u c t i v e ,accounting
a c c o u n t i n for
gf o r 73%
area.
b y statistical
s t a t i s t i c a l area.
d i g g e r sby
or f diggers
n u m b eof
Table
a n dnumber
r a t e s and
c a t c hrates
h a r v e s t ,catch
l i s t s harvest,
T a b l e11 lists
1.
Table
T
a b l e1.
o
a
o
Area
A
r ea
o
Miles
Mi'les
off
o
Beach
B e a ch
No.
of
N o . of
Digger
D'igger
Trips
Trips
Dug/
Clams
C
l a m sDug/
Digger-trip
D
'igger-trip
No.
of
N o . of
Clams
C la m s
Dug
Dug
No.
of
N o . of
Clams
Clams
ted
Wasted
l,las
Harvest
Harvest
Total
T
o ta l
q 455
9,455
901
901
10,356
10,356
'7
1
1
I
3.6
3
.6
1,325
1
,325
7.11
c
2
c
6.2
6
.?
1,769
I ,769
t/
4
12.4
21,856
21,856
2,083
2, 0 8 3
23,939
23,939
J
3
5.0
5.0
4,623
4,623
12.6
rt.o
58,282
5,554
h < x 1n
63,836
A
4
t
1.2
I.?
1
t I
12.8
10,056
i0,056
5
2.0
2.0
3
,863
3,863
14.1
1
4.1
54,528
q l06
5,196
59,724
5
9, 72 4
18.0
18.0
12,365
12,365
12.5
L2.5
1 5 4, I 7 7
154,177
14,692
14,692
168,869
16 8 , 8 6 9
Total
T o ta l
a
from
b y area
a r e a from
d i g g e r s by
n u m b e of
o
r f diggers
Sport
harvest
a n d number
c l a m sand
o f razor
r a z o r clams
a r v e s t of
Sport h
1
9
8
4
.
Clatsop
t o September,
S e p t e m b e 1984.
r,
M a r c hto
B e a c h ,March
0 i a t s o p Beach,
Area
A r e a11
Area
A r e a22
Area
A r e a33
Area
A r e a44
Area
A r e a55
785
7
85
v
'
v t v v
I
958
958
t v b v
Road
P a r kRoad
Columbia
t o Fort
S t e v e n sPark
F o r t Stevens
R
C o l u m b i River
a i v e r to
Road
Fort
t o Sunset
S u n s e Beach
tB e a c hRoad
R o a dto
S t e v e n sRoad
F o r t Stevens
Road
B
Sunset
t o Gearhart
G e a r h a r Beach
t e a c hRoad
R o a dto
B e a c hRoad
S u n s e tBeach
R
i
v
er
t
o
N
e
c
a
n
i
c
u
m
Gearhart
Beach
Road
to
Necanicum
River
R
o
a
d
E
e
a
c
h
Gearhart
easide
e a d ,S
Necanicum
River
Head,
Seaside
t o Tillainook
T i l l a m o o kH
Rmi v e rto
Necan'icu
I I ,014
11,014
O
Table4., Pnnual
Annual
Harvestand
Tab1e..
Harvest
and Effort
Effort Data
Data for
for the
the Sport
Sport and
andCorrmercial
ComrercialFishery.
F.isherv.
(.orrnercial
Number
ffi-
a
Year
1955
1955
o
I
tei'.
o
S
295
295
tes6
1956
253
253
1957 .193
1957
193
1958*
195e* zzr
221
1959 ll8
1959
118
1e60
1960
eJ
93
1e6t
1961
58
58
1962
79
1962
79
ie63
1963
77
77
1e64
1964
tzs
125
1965
1965
2L3
213
re66 217
2r7
1966
1967 297
1957
297
-340
1968
1968
340
1e6e 185
l's
1969
o
S
o
of
Diggers
1970
1971
1972
1973*
reTi
t97?
tei3*
t974
1974
1975
1975
1976
1976
1977*
rsn*
1978
1978
t9r9
1979
7s
79
134
16.
76.
1lr
111
58
58
146
146
391
391
?6e
269
?s3
253
236
236
134
1e80 145
14s
t9B1
1981
9i
91
re,z 209
1982
?0e
1980
o
[]
1983*
1983*
1984
9
.
Number of
C1ams Landed
904,000
904,000
490,000
336,000
385,000
179,000
154,000
80,000
102,000
107,000
125,000
399,000
282,000
494,000
361,000
111,000
61,000
123,000
49,000
89,000
32,000
171,000
717,000
143,000
205,000
180,000
116,000
128,000
165,000
1,000
o
S
o
C
a
S
s6,000
56,000
60,000
77,000
89,000
54,000
48,000
51,000
56,000
55,000
71,000
76,000
78,000
74,000
64,000
59,000
56,000
77,000
69,000
76,000
44,000
75,000
119,000
.51,000
72,000
90,000
70,000
sport
Clams per
Number of
DiggerrTriP
Trip Clams
c@ Dug
4e0;000
llo,ooo
$o,ooo
lzg'ooo
t11;ry
_qq;000
102;000
uo;*,
ii"w
ae;000
s+'ooo
qs,0o0
si,ooo
so,ooo
loz,ooo ss,ooo
rzs,ooo ii,ooo
rgg,ooo zo,ooo
?gz'ooo 2s,000
zq,om
1?1,OOO
sotiooo oq,ooo
rrr,ooo srjlooo
-!1,ry0
izi,ooo
1?,ooo
g?;gn
lz,ooo
tzt,cloo
zrz,ooo
tar,ooo
jooo
4os
tgo,o''
21.6
21.6
17.7
21.4
18.9
12.0
12.4
11.4
ii.i
2r.4
ie.g
1i:0
lz'.i
ii.q
rs.g
-15.9
i3:0
13.0
it:s
15.5
rq.g
14.9
ii:6
13.6
rg.g
19.9
ts.o
13.0
i;:;
14.4
so,ooo 12.8
iz'.a
ii,ogo
og,ooo
iu,*
*,ro
zs,ooo
rrg,ooo
si,ooo
iz,ooo
g0,000
.
ir'--6
s.i
t.5
7.s
ro.s
it:'
g.6
ii.s
i':t
12.6
9.2
9.5
7.9
10.5
12.0
9.6
11.8
10.7
10.6
6.2
9.1
3.3
rroiooo 7o'ooo io.o
e-.i
t:l
tzs,O0o 30:000
30,000
. ros,ryg 84,000
qi:rr'
1'ooo
.37.000
** Occurrences
Occurrences
of El
El Nino
of
Nino
f"tl
sport
) rQu SpOrf f,il2,S ;n,l"JrJ
.
Number of
Diggers
ltl*o
32,000
23,0(fl)
:.i
Total
Total
Wastage
Harvest
Harvest
295,Q00 2,411,000
295,000
2,411,000
. ze5;000
295,000
1,846,m0
1,846,000
l,ggl,ru
4t6;000 2,398,000
416,0(X)
2,3e8,000
.,gl!,ry
l,ql?,ry
218,000
2,283,000
2,283,000
?1s,000
qq,ry
124,000 949,000
124,000
e4s,000
,!o,ooo
46,000
7e6,000
796,000
::g,ry
zo,ooo 733,000
70,000
733,000
lgl,ry
^
g?l,g
ros,ooo
-t0:000 1,099,000
105,000
l,099,000
8e0,000
890,000
- 111;0m 70,000
zaa,ooo 1,487,000
1,482,000
i,ggq;Sq 264,000
i,6:0m 1,719,000
1,719,000
],rl4,om 185,000
;il:000
434,000
1,768,000
1,768,000
l:qE]*
1,113,gry 195,000
rss,ooo 2,161,000
2,161,000
g:l,ru
roz,mo
162,000
1,354;000
1,354,000
gll,ry
rss,ooo 1,117,000
1,117,000
155,000
1,212,000
l,?J?,W
1,061,000
1,646,000
1,679,000
646,000
595,000
583,000
892,000
713,000
1,098,000
1,134,000
1,052,000
1,472,000
831,000
851,000
751,000
958,000
635,000
725,000
347,000
785,000
1,431,000
499,000
849,000
958,000
747,000
187,000
758,000
105,000
12,000
34LUoD
15ooC
rzs,ooo .901,000
e01,000
ig1,ry 125,000
ggg,ry 213,000
213,0001,304,000
1,304,000
glg,ry lsg,000
139,000
824,000
824,000
rsg,000 973,000
159,000
e23,000
l?!,ry
s,fin
5,000
384,000
384,000
1l,ry
rsi]ooo 1,113,000
1,113,000
. lqg,ooo 157,000
1,111,qry
o:,ooo
63,000
2,211,000
2,211,000
,
33,ooo 675,000
6i5,000
1?:,9ry 33000
132,'00
137,000
1,1ei,000
1,191,000
flg,ry
glg,ry
o:,om 1,201,000
63,000
1,201,000
tqi,ooo
143,000
1,006,000
1,006,000
rlr,ry
qg,000 364,000
49,000
364,000
lgl,ry
:rzs,ooo
3.23,000
1,G16,000
1,046,000
llg,ry
105,000
12,000 118,000
ri',000
4
a
.1
( 0 c t o b e r - D e c e m bw
ehr )i c husually
The
which
T h efall
f a l 1 fishery
al n dcontribu s u ally is
i s small
s r n a l 'and
contribf i s h e r y (October-December)
t
y e a r l y harvest
p r o d u c e da
ann e
estimated
l i t t l e to
1 8 7 , 0 0 0clams
c l a m staken
t a k e non
on
utes
u
t e s little
t o the
t h e yearly
h a r v e s tproduced
s t j m a t e d187,000
d i g g e rtrips.
11,000
trips.
1 1 , 0 0 0digger
p e r trip.
Diggers
D i g g e r saveraged
1
c l a m sper
trip.
a v e r a g e17.0
d 7 . 0 clams
The
a l I harvest
T
h e ffall
harvest
j n landing
j n Table
is
i s included
l a n d j n gdata
d a t ain
i n c l u d e din
2.
T a b l e2.
o
' i n tthe
i n tthe
Clam
was
h e spring
0 %in
h e fall.
C l a mwastage
wastage
c a l c u l a t e dat
8 . 7 %in
a n d0%
f all.
w a scalculated
a t 8.7%
s p r i n g and
A g e ccomposition
Wastage
w
d u eto
d u r i n gthe
ompositjon
W
a s t a g was
e a sminimal
m i n i m a ldue
t o lack
l a c k of
o f effort
t h e spring.
s p r i n g . Age
e f f o r t during
y e a r class
t h e fishery.
of
t h e sport
l a r g e1983
1 9 8 3year
fishery.
o f the
s p o r t catch
c a t c hindicates
i n d i c a t e saa large
c l a s s is
i s entering
e n t e r i n gthe
c
b e of
p o p u l a t j o nto
o f the
t h e 1983
l9B3
Random
9 4 %of
o f the
t h e population
t o be
d
i n the
t h e fall
f a l l also
a l s o found
f o u n d94%
R
a n d o digging
mi g g i n gin
y e a r class
year
average
a n dall
a r e a shave
h a v ebetter
b e t t e r than
than a
v e r a g enumbers
os f clams.
clams.
c l a s s and
a l l areas
n u m b e rof
Table
3.
T
a b l e3.
o
p e r c e n tof
Age
o f sport
s p o r t dug
d u gclams,
c l a m s ,from
f r o m Clatsop
A g ecomposition
c o m p o s i t i oin
ni n percent
Clatsop
Beach,
B e a c h 1979-1984.
,1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 4 .
Year
Y
e a r of
of
Harvest
H
arvest
o
o
average
l10-year
0 - y e a r average
o
0
0
1
2
3
4
5+
f,'r
1979
1979
t/
<
12.3
7F ?
75.3
11.1
11.1
0.9
0.9
0.3
0.1
0.I
1980
1980
44.6
44.6
32.0
3l.u
16.7
I6.7
hl
6.1
OE
0.5
0.1
u.r
1981
1981
44.1
4
4.1
ht
a
51.4
?
1
3.1
1.3
1.3
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
1982
1982
18.1
1 8 .1
80.7
80.7
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
1983
1983
29.5
29.5
tr( 7
55.7
11
I.I
1.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1984
1984
46.8
4 6 .B
46.7
46.7
6.2
6.?
1
.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
30.0
30.0
54.4
5 4. 4
10.9
10.9
3.2
3.2
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
13.7
i3.7
Beaches -So!.th
South of T
Tillamook
il I amookHead
Heqd_
Bea.qhes
p a s tyears
y e a r sand
i n past
and
Beaches
did
B e a c h ein
si n southern
d i d not
d e v e l o pas
h a v ein
s o u t h e r nOregon
Oregon
n o t develop
a s they
t h e y have
p o o r . The
at r e a .
d
t h e Newport
N e w p o rarea.
digging
i g gi n g was
v , , a very
sv e r y poor.
b e s t digging
d i g gi n g was
w a sfound
f o u n din
i n the
T h e best
o
S a n dBeach
near
Beaches
north
no
o r t h of
o f Newport
N e w p o r showed
ts h o w e d
n o sign
o f clams
c l a m sexcept
S h o r tSand
B e a c hnear
s i g n of
e x c e p tShort
B
e a c h e sn
present.
y e a r class
Cannon
h a daa large
l a r g e 1983
i 9 B 3year
c l a s spresent.
B
C a n n o Beach
n e a c hwhich
w h i c hhad
o
o
-r''--
O
/9,
COMMERCIAL
FISHERY
COMMERC
FI A
S LH E R Y
a
p o u n d slanded
l a n d e don
trips.
o n 323
3 2 3trips.
The
c o r u n e r c i aharvest
hla r v e s twas
w a s5,803
5 , 8 0 3pounds
T h ecommercial
The
T
h e spring
spring
p o u n d sthe
t, h e lowest
record. T
The
l o w e s ton
o n record.
h efall
h a r v e s twas
w a s5,800
,5,B00
harvest
was
f a l l harvest
h
a r v e s tw
a s 33 pounds,
y e a r class.
p o u n d swhich
o f the
t h e 1983
class.
was
made
a d eup
e n t i r e l y of
1 9 8 3year
u p almost
a l m o s tentirely
pounds
a sm
whichw
o
p
o s i t i o n of
in T
catch
Table
i s shown
s h o w nin
a b l e4.
4.
position
o f the
t h e commercial
cla t c his
commercia
I
a g ecornThe
comI h e age
Random
d i g g i n gduring
during
R a n d odigging
m
(3
p o p u l a t i o nw
not
off c
commercial
sl i z e (3
o m m e r c i asize
was
m o n t h sfound
t h a t 46%
o f the
t h e population
ot o
f o u n dthat
4 6 %of
the
a sn
t h e fall
f a l l months
Many
commercial
diggers.
and
wastage
was
observed
a n ycommercial
n dw
b s e r v e dffrom
r o m commercial
c o m m e r c i ad
l iggers. M
a s t a g ew
3/4
3 / 4 inches)
lnches) a
a so
o
l e t t e r was
t o unlicensed
b u y e r s . AA letter
was
e p o r t e dselling
t h e r e catch
c a t c h to
u n l i c e n s e dbuyers.
s e l ' l i n g there
diggers
d i g g e r swere
w e r e rreported
t h a t they
t h a t all
m u s t be
a n dthat
a l l commercial
c o m m e r c i afishermen
f li s h e r m e nthat
a l l clams
c ' l a m smust
b e recorded
r e c o r d e dand
they
sent
t o all
s e n t to
d e a l e r ' slicense.
'ljcense.
b u y e ror
b a i t dealers
t o aa legal
1 e g a 1buyer
must
m u s tsell
o r have
h a v eaa bait
s e l l to
o
Table
4.
T a b l e4.
p e r c e n tof
dyu gclams
c l a m sfrom
o f commercially
c o m m e r c i a l ldug
from
Age
c o m p o s i t i oin
ni n percent
A g ecomposition
Clatsop
B e a c h1979-1984.
,1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 4 ,
C l a t s o pBeach,
AGE
AGE
Yearof
Year of
Harvest
Ha r v e sI
o
o
o
0
1
2
(
3
11
7.1
t.L
4.0
4
.0
nq
0.9
4
5+
5+
1979
1979
0.0
0
.0
61.9
6 1. 9
26.1
26.t
1980
1980
0,7
0
.7
ona
90.9
7.5
7.5
0.7
0.7
0.0
0.0
0.2
0
.2
1981
1981
1.4
i.4
noR
89.8
8.8
B
.B
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0
.0
1982
1982
0.4
0.4
98.7
98.7
0.7
0
.7
n2
0.2
0,0
0.0
0.0
U.U
1983
1983
2.5
2.5
6q5
65.5
24fi
24.0
8.0
8.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0
.0
1984
1
984
93.7
93.7
5.1
1.2
I.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0
.0
6.2
?n
3.0
1.2
1.2
11.0
1. 0
10-year
average 1
1 0 - y e a raverage
63.0
6 3. 0
15.6
( N U C L EINCLUSION
NIX
UNKNOWN)
IANRC L U S I O
UN
NKNOI^IN)
N I X (NUCLEAR
a
Beach
p a r a s j t ecalled
C l a t s o pBeach
was
The
was
r a z o r clams
c l a m sfrom
f r o m Clatsop
c a l ' l e dNIX
i n razor
N I X found
f o u n din
T h eparasite
j n clams
g i 1 1 tissues
tissues
found
t h e Newport
N e w p o rarea.
at r e a . Monthly
M o n t h l ysamples
s a m p l eof
so f gill
a l s o in
c ' l a mfrom
sf r o mthe
f o u n dalso
U n i v e r s i t yfor
f o r examinaexaminat o Oregon
from
c l a m swere
0 r e g o nState
B e a c hclams
s e n t to
S t a t e University
6 0 Clatsop
C l a t s o pBeach
w e r esent
f r o m 60
p r e s e n cof
eo f NIX.
o b t a i n e dfrom
s a m p l e swere
a l s o obtained
tion
N I X . Some
S o m esamples
w e r ealso
from
d e t e r m i n the
et h e presence
t o determine
t i o n to
o
0
b e e nchecked
s a m p l e have
sh a v ebeen
checked
o f the
t h e samples
t i m e only
o n l y aa few
f e w of
at r e a . At
A t this
t h i s time
the
N e w p o rarea.
t h e Newport
o
U
infestas 1i g h t infestaa m eslight
in tthe
h e ssame
p r e s e n ti n
' i t w a sdetermined
w a spresent
N I Xwas
th
d e t e r m i n ethat
d a t NIX
which
h i c h it was
ffrom
romw
1'l
all
a n a l Y z ea
t o analyze
hopes
h o p e sto
O
L a b o r a t o r i e sOSU
' SU
b y Battel
B a t t e lLaboratories.
l 9 B 3by
i n 1983
f o u n din
a s found
tion
r a t e as
t i o n rate
future.
t h e future.
samples
s a m p l e in
si n the
,
A
POISON
PH
O I S OALERT
NL E R T
SI C
HELLFIS
PARALYTIC
P A R A L Y TSHELLFISH
t o the
the
n o r t h to
B a y north
Y a q u i n aBay
f r o m Yaquina
e f f e c t from
i n t o effect
w e n t into
P S Palert
a l e r t went
Onn J
June28
u n e 2 8aa PSP
0
Department
H e a l t h Department
s t a t e Health
t h e Oregon
0 r e g o nState
t o the
s e n t to
w e r esent
c l a m swere
R a z o rclams
R i v e r . Razor
Columbia
c o l u m b i aRiver.
of
g r a m sof
p e r 100
1 0 0 grams
t o x i n per
o
m i c r o g r a mof
s f toxin
4 1 5 micrograms
c o n t a i n415
t o contain
f o u n dto
w e r e found
a n dwere
for
t e s t ' i n g and
f o r testing
clams were tested and found to have only 36
m e a t . SSamples
a m p l e sofo fdressed
d r e s s e drazor
razorclamsweretestedandfoundtohaveon.ly36
meat.
dropl e v e ' l sdropt o x ' i n levels
1 3 when
w h e ntoxin
J u l y 13
o n July
l i f t e d on
w a slifted
The
a l e r t was
T
h e alert
the
m o s t of
' o f the
a f f e c t e dmost
h a r v e s t i n gaffected
s h e l l f i s h harvesting
o n shellfish
b a non
The
h e ban
m i c r o g r a m s .T
5 9 micrograms.
ped
p e d to
t o 59
toxin.
osf toxin.
micrograms
m i c r o g r a mof
to have died due to being
days
d a y sin
i n ttwo
w o ttide
i d e s eseries.
r i e s . F o Four
u r c a cats
t s w ewere
r e r e preported
ortedtohavediedduetobeing
tested
c l a m stested
na'z o r clams
B e a c hWashington,
,l ^ J a s h i n g t orrazor
L o n gBeach,
a l e r t . Long
h e alert.
a r t s during
d u r i n g tthe
parts
c l a mp
ffed
e d clam
icrograms.
3 5 0m
att 1
1350
micrograms.
a
'
o
o
o
a
a
e
a
a
o
r
o
NATURAL RES
RESBLDG
LIBRARY
BLDGLIBRARY
WASHINGTON STATE
STATE LIBRARY
LIBRARY
P0 BOX
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BOX 42460
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