The state may put off Dungeness crab fishing season.
AB Wire
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Tuesday advised consumers not to eat Dungeness and Rock crabs caught in waters between the Oregon border and the southern Santa Barbara County line, due to the detection of dangerous levels of domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin.
In a statement, the CDPH has said that recent test results have shown persistently high levels of domoic acid in Dungeness crab and Rock crab, which have been caught along the California coastline.
Following this, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment recommended that the state put off the start of the Dungeness crab fishing season because of a potentially fatal biotoxin, reported mercurynews.com.
“It’s really a public health issue and that’s got to be our priority right now,” said Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We don’t want anybody eating crab with domoic acid in it that can potentially kill someone.”
CDPH has said that it, in conjunction with other state agencies, will continue its sampling efforts to monitor domoic acid levels in Dungeness and Rock crabs until the levels subside and no longer exceed the State’s action level of 30 ppm in the viscera and 20 ppm in the meat.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife has the authority to close the commercial Dungeness crab fishery. The state Fish and Game Commission would be responsible for delaying the recreational season. The commission could vote on the matter as early as Thursday, the Mercury News report said.
The agencies will also consider closing the recreational and commercial rock crab fisheries, which are open year-round, the report added.
Increase of bio-toxins – cause and effects
Domoic acid accumulation in seafood is a natural occurrence that is related to a “bloom†of a particular single-celled plant called Pseudo-nitzschia. The conditions that support the growth of this plant are impossible to predict, and it is unknown when the levels found in crab will subside. The health advisory will be lifted once the levels are no longer above acceptable levels.
Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood.
In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days.
In severe cases, the victim may experience trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory (a condition known as Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning), coma or death.
However, there have been no reported illnesses associated with this event, the CDPH statement added.