SEQUIM — The state Department of Health has lifted a recreational shellfish harvest closure for beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Dungeness Spit to Cape Flattery.
The closure had affected clams, oysters, mussels and other invertebrates.
The Health Department lifted the closure for beaches directly on the Strait after samples showed no detectable levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, toxin, which is also known as red tide.
High levels of PSP prompted the closure in late June of Strait of Juan de Fuca beaches from Discovery Bay in Jefferson County to Neah Bay in Clallam County to recreational harvesting of all species of shellfish.
Sequim Bay still closed
Sequim Bay remains closed to recreational and commercial harvesting of all types of shellfish because of a different toxin — diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, or DSP — that has been found nowhere else in the nation.
The Sequim Bay beaches were closed Aug. 8 after three King County residents who ate mussels harvested at Sequim Bay State Park in late June fell ill with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, which can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and chills.
Tests last month confirmed that Sequim Bay is the only body of saltwater where diarrhetic shellfish poisoning has been found in the nation.
It has been found in Europe and Canada, including British Columbia.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning is far more serious than DSP and can cause paralysis and death when ingested.
DSP comes from a toxin produced by a type of plankton long known to live in high concentrations in Sequim Bay and around Puget Sound, Cox said.
Jefferson County
The recreational shellfish harvest remains closed in Jefferson County except for shellfish other than butter clams in Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay.
The closures only apply to sport harvesting, not to commercially harvested shellfish, which are sampled separately.
Crab meat is not known to contain the toxin, but the guts of the crab should be discarded, health officials said.
Butter clams are known to carry the toxin for up to a year.
Seasonal closures remain in effect for Pacific Ocean beaches and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Sequim Bay to Discovery Bay.
All areas are closed for scallop harvesting.
Unlike bacterial contamination, DSP and PSP are not killed by cooking or freezing.
For more information on shellfish harvest closures, phone the Marine Biotoxin Hotline at 800-562-5632 or visit the state website at http://tinyurl.com/4xmftw7.
