Domoic acid is a naturally-occurring toxin produced by the alga Pseudo-nitzschia, for reasons not yet clear to scientists.
Advertisement
The Dungeness and rock crabs found and picked up on the coastline had such high levels of domoic acid that it has become very risky.
It remained unclear how long the high levels of acid in the crabs would persist, according to the health department. So far, no cases of domoic acid poisoning have been reported, according to state health officials.
Meeting by conference call, the commission voted 3-0 to delay the recreational crabbing season, which was supposed to begin Saturday.
Health department officials said they will continue to monitor domoic acid in Dungeness and rock crab until levels subside below 20 parts per million in the meat and 30 parts per million in the viscera.
Washington state this year shortened its Dungeness crab fishing season along most of its coast because of the toxin, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish lead biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. There’s also no way to tell whether your crabs contain domoic acid by looking at them in a grocery store or on your plate, he says.
“The values that they found are high”, she said, “and it was a very good idea to issue a moratorium”. In milder cases, people may experience vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, headaches, and dizziness.
“You can’t cook it out by cooking it extra well”, Patrick Kennely from the California Department of Public Health said. The more severe symptoms include seizures, confusion, difficulty breathing, disorientation and permanent loss of short-term memory.
As conditions in the ocean improve, the Fish and Game Commission will likely reopen the ocean to recreational crab fishing county by county as test results determine that crabs in various regions are safe to eat.
Temperatures in a few spots along the coast dropped a couple degrees this week in response to a few northwest winds, but the water could warm back up depending on wind patterns, Mantua said.
“We understand the necessity for the closure”, said George Osborn, who represents the Coastside Fishing Club, a San Francisco Bay Area recreational fishing group.
Advertisement
Such blooms are cyclical, but this summer surveyors aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel said the algae bloom was one of the largest ever observed on the West Coast. “It will take a few time for the acid to work its way out of the crabs”.
