Hold the Butter: California Crab Season May Be Delayed Thanks to Toxin

Following a health advisory Tuesday against eating Dungeness and rock crab caught along parts of the California coast because of dangerous levels of a toxin in the animals, state officials have also recommended a delay to the start of the Dungeness crab season and the close of the rock crab fishery.

The state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s recommendation has prompted an emergency meeting of the California Fish and Game Commission scheduled for 8 a.m. today in Sacramento. The commission will consider voting to delay the opening of the recreational Dungeness crab fishery and the commercial Dungeness crab season.

The recreational season is scheduled to start Saturday, and the commercial season is scheduled to start Nov. 15. The advisory affects crab caught along the California coast from Santa Barbara to the Oregon border. According to the California Department of Public Health, recent tests have shown high levels of domoic acid in crab meat and viscera, or crab butter.

The accumulation of domoic acid in seafood is a natural phenomenon caused by the presence of Pseudo-nitzschia, a single-celled plant, according to state health department officials. Conditions affecting the growth of Pseudo-nitzschia are unpredictable, and that makes it difficult to know when levels of domoic acid in locally caught crab will subside.

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. Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. Symptoms can appear within 30 minutes to 24 hours after consuming toxic seafood, and can persist for several days.

Severe cases of domoic acid poisoning can sometimes involve trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma or even death. So far, no cases of domoic acid poisoning have been reported, according to state health officials. For more information call the California Department of Public Health’s shellfish information line at (800) 553-4133.

Previous:

• Health Advisory: Unsafe Levels of Toxin Found in Locally Caught Crab

By Bay City News

Photo courtesy of Renee Schiavone/Patch