Beaches directly on the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Discovery Bay west to Neah Bay have been closed to recreational shellfish harvesting because of a rise in paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP.
All Clallam County beaches directly on the Strait were closed to all species of shellfish harvesting on Thursday, said Frank Cox, marine biotoxin coordinator for the state Department of Health, today.
That excludes Sequim Bay, which is closed only to butter clam harvesting, and Dungeness Bay.
The closures are in addition to earlier closures of Discovery Bay and all beaches on the Strait from Low Point near the Lyre River westward to Cape Flattery to recreational harvest of all species of shellfish, as well as Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay, to butter clam harvesting only.
Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately, and products on the market are safe to eat, health officials have said.
Thursday’s closure of all beaches on the Strait from the Jefferson County line to Neah Bay was prompted by test results of a sample taken June 29 at Freshwater Bay that contained 90 micrograms of the toxin, also known as red tide, in 100 grams of tissue.
Closures are instituted when toxin levels reach 80 micrograms per 100 grams of tissue.
Cox warned that, although the sample showed only a slight rise over the healthy limit, the amount of toxin could have increased greatly by now.
“Oftentimes it is telling us that the bloom is just beginning and it could quickly increase,” he said.
PSP is caused by an algae bloom.
Freshwater Bay historically has been one of the state’s “sentinel monitoring sites,” that may be the first to show an influx of the toxin, Cox said.
The beaches on the western Strait were closed June 7 after a 83 micrograms of PSP per 100 grams of tissue found in a California mussel at Sekiu Point.
Discovery Bay beaches were closed June 13 after 113 micrograms of PSP per 100 grams of shellfish tissue were found in blue mussels at Beckett Point, Cox said.
Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing and can be life-threatening.
Symptoms of PSP can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet, followed by difficulty breathing and potentially death.
In most cases, the algae that contains the toxins cannot be seen and must be detected using laboratory testing.
Recreational shellfish harvesters can check the state Department of Health website at http://tinyurl.com/y9uv6q9 or phone 800-562-5632.
