DISCOVERY BAY — The marine biotoxin known as “red tide” that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning have drifted from Clallam County into East Jefferson County, closing beaches around Discovery Bay to the recreational harvest of shellfish.
The latest closure area boundaries are from north of Cape George, south to include all of Discovery Bay and northwest to about a mile west of Diamond Point to Rocky Point in Clallam County.
Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat, said Jefferson County Public Health Director Jean Baldwin.
While Baldwin did not know the exact levels of biotoxins, she did say “they are lethal.”
“These were surprisingly high real fast,” Baldwin said of samples taken last Friday for testing.
The state Department of Health announced the Discovery Bay closure area late Monday afternoon.
Baldwin said more samples would be taken today.
The East Jefferson County closure follows an influx of red tide at levels not seen in at least a decade detected in Clallam County sea waters last week, state public health officials said.
“It’s pretty bad compared to recent history” of the past 10 to 15 years, Greg Combs of the state Department of Health Office of Shellfish and Water Protection said Friday.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a bloom like this occur.”
Paralytic shellfish poisoning has closed all beaches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Cape Flattery to Dungeness Spit to recreational harvesting.
Ocean beaches were already closed for the season.
Warning signs have been posted at high-use beaches warning people not to collect shellfish from these areas.
Jefferson County environmental health specialists Monday were posting signs a beaches know to attract visitors, including the WorldMark Trendwest timeshare resort on the western shores of Discovery Bay, Baldwin said.
The shellfish harvesting closure affects clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish.
Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing and can be life-threatening, health officials said.
People can become ill from eating shellfish contaminated with the naturally occurring marine algae that contains toxins that are harmful to humans.
Symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning 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.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact a health-care provider. For extreme reactions, call 9-1-1.
In most cases, the algae that contain the toxins cannot be seen, and must be detected using water sampling and laboratory testing.
Shellfish harvesting is closed when levels reach 80 micrograms per 100 grams of shellfish tissue.
Recreational shellfish harvesters should check the state health department website at http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm or call the health department’s biotoxin hot line at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in the state.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach contributed to this report.
Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
