I thought the water looked a little red in the bay last weekend. We ate the last of the crab last night. I prefer to clean it before we cook it.

Recreational shellfishing halted in Puget Sound

06:58 AM PDT on Thursday, July 22, 2004


Associated Press and




AP
Razor clams
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington State Health Department says recreational shellfish harvesting has been halted in all or parts of four central Puget Sound-area counties because of rising levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning.

All of King County is closed, as are large portions of Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The closures do not affect commercially harvested shellfish, which have undergone testing and are safe to eat.

The poisoning, generally more prevalent in summer, is caused by tiny algae that grow in Puget Sound. Shellfish eat the algae, and concentrate the toxin in their tissues. The algae bloom, formerly called “red tide,” causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, which can causes numbness or difficulty in breathing.

Resources
Wash. Dept. of Health - Beach closures in Washington
Toxin levels are expected to rise over the next few weeks, and the Health Department warns that anyone who has recently harvested shellfish from those areas should not eat them. That includes the harvesting of scallops, clams, oysters, mussels and other invertebrates such as the moon snail. The closure does not apply to harvesting shrimp.

Crabmeat is not known to contain the PSP toxin, but the guts can contain unsafe levels of PSP. To be safe, clean crab thoroughly and discard the guts.

Here's the link to the beach closure list - http://www4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mogifs/biotoxin.htm

...and then ask me about the girl from Charlie Mac's.

can someone tell me if whidbey island is part of the red tide going on?? I'm heading up there next week. My wifes boss is letting us use there cabin for the week and was going to to some crabbing?

As a firefighter/paramedic for 26 years, an avid sea kayaker and genuine shellfish junkie, I have done EXTENSIVE research concerning PSP ("Red Tide"). I've heard every bulls**t story/excuse/explanation justifying eating whatever affected shellfish and I can assure you that their is NO WAY a person can know if just even ONE clam in a bucket has enough toxin to kill/paralize you without extensive lab testing. You cannot see red in the water, and once you eat a bad one/batch....their is NO antidote. Your only chance is that someone in your party knows mouth to mouth breathing and can do it for up to 24 hours or until help arrives sooner. The toxin that shuts down the razor clamming is not necessarily the same as Red Tide. Is a clam dinner is worth risking your life?

How does red tide affect crabbing? I would assume you wouldn't want to crab either, but you always just hear about it affecting clamming.

As long as you clean the guts out of the crab, they are not affected. The toxins do not get to the meat. Crabbinbg is not closed.