CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2009

CONTACT:
Al Lundeen
Ron Owens
(916) 440-7259
PH09-99

CDPH LIFTS SPORT-HARVESTED MUSSELS QUARANTINE

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced today that the statewide annual quarantine on mussels taken by sport harvesters from California’s ocean waters ends at midnight on Saturday, October 31 for all counties except Del Norte, Humboldt, and San Luis Obispo. Aside for these three counties, samplings of mussels show no detectable levels of dangerous toxins and human consumption of shellfish is now considered safe.

The annual quarantine is issued for the entire California coastline, usually from May 1 through October 31. The quarantine applies only to sport-harvested mussels. Commercially harvested shellfish are not included in the quarantine as other steps are taken to assure oysters, clams and mussels entering the marketplace are free of toxins.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a form of nervous system poisoning. Concentrated levels of the PSP toxins can develop in mussels and other bivalve shellfish when they feed on certain naturally occurring marine plankton.

A second form of poisoning, Domoic Acid Poisoning (DAP) -- sometimes referred to as Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) -- has been linked to natural food sources for filter-feeding animals like bivalve shellfish. No known cases of human ASP have occurred in California this season. Domoic acid has been linked to several poisonings of marine mammals along the Pacific Coast and may have caused several mild cases of human poisoning in the state of Washington.

CDPH’s shellfish sampling and testing programs for PSP and ASP issue warnings or quarantines when needed. Local health departments, various state and federal agencies and others participate in the monitoring program.

Consumers can receive updated information about shellfish poisoning by calling the "Shellfish Information Line" at (800) 553-4133.

www.cdph.ca.gov

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A number of bird and marine mammal strandings have occurred in the past week in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas with a possible link to domoic-acid (DA) poisoning. Significant numbers of the domoic-acid producing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia have been detected at SCCOOS Harmful Algal Bloom study sites at Stearn's Wharf, Newport Pier, and Scripps Pier over the past week. USC Webb Gliders running transects around Catalina Island also show a significant subsurface chlorophyll maximum. Additionally, low levels of domoic acid were detected in and around the Los Angeles Harbor at the end of April.

Scientists from USC will be coordinating with the Los Angeles and Orange County Sanitation Districts to collect seawater samples this week to verify the extent of this event. Further updates will follow as analysis is completed on seawater and marine mammal samples.

The reddish water or "red tide" off Imperial Beach's coast is safe for water enthusiasts, but signals that local mussels may be toxic, county health officials said Tuesday.