PORT LUDLOW — High levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning have closed Port Ludlow and Mats Mats bays to recreational shellfish harvesting, Jefferson County Public Health said.
“Port Ludlow often gets blooms,” said Alison Petty, Public Health water quality specialist, after issuing a statement late Wednesday afternoon.
The “red tide” closure area boundaries are from the north entrance to Mats Mats Bay, including Mats Mats Bay, south to a point 4,000 feet southeast of Tala Point, the peninsula bounding the southern shores of Port Ludlow Bay.
Warning signs will be posted at high-use beaches warning people not to collect shellfish from these areas because the marine toxins contained in them can be life-threatening.
Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat, public health officials said.
The closure includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish.
Crab is not included in the closure, but the “crab butter” should be discarded, and only the meat should be eaten.
Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing and can be life-threatening.
The Mats Mats and Port Ludlow Bay closures are not believed to be related to the mid-June red tide that slowly drifted from west to east on the North Olympic Peninsula’s shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, extending eventually from Neah Bay to Discovery Bay.
“I don’t think it’s the same bloom,” Petty said.
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.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact a health care provider. For extreme reactions, phone 9-1-1.
In most cases, the algae that contain the toxins cannot be seen, and must be detected using laboratory testing.
Therefore, recreational shellfish harvesters should check the DOH website at http://tinyurl.com/y9uv6q9 or phone the state Health Department Biotoxin Hot Line at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in Washington state.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
