Deadly toxin leads Calif. to suspend fishing season for Dungeness, rock crab

LOS ANGELES — California authorities are moving to suspend the fishing season for Dungeness and rock crabs due to high levels of a toxin found in the crustaceans that could cause illness or even death in people who eat them, officials said on Wednesday.

The California Department of Public Health late on Tuesday advised consumers to avoid eating Dungeness and rock crabs caught along the coastline from the state's northern border to Santa Barbara County.

Elevated levels of domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin found to have accumulated in thecrabs, stem from an unprecedented algae bloom associated with a huge expanse of unusually warm Pacific Ocean waters dubbed "the blob."

Scientists say the runaway bloom of pseudo-nitzschia algae, which emerged in May and has stretched down the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Southern California, has begun to subside but could be reactivated by the recent onset of El Nino, a separate climate pattern that raises sea temperatures.

It remained unclear how long the high levels of acid in the crabs would persist, according to the health department.

Commercial Dungeness crab harvests in California were valued last year at $60 million, not including retail sales, while recreational crabbing generated millions more in economic activity, said Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the California Fish and Wildlife Department.

In light of this week's health advisory, the state Fish and Game Commission on Thursday was scheduled to vote on a proposal to postpone the opening of the recreational Dungeness crabseason, which was set to begin Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Fish and Wildlife Department said in a statement that it would delay the start of the commercial season for Dungeness crab, which was to begin on Nov. 15.

Both commercial and recreational fishing for rock crab is normally open year-round but the Fish and Wildlife statement said authorities plan to close those fisheries in areas where rock crabhave high levels of domoic acid.

The crabbing suspensions would mark the first time in memory that a fishery has been closed in California due to domoic acid contamination but outbreaks of the toxin have prompted seafood health advisories in the past, Traverso said.

Oregon officials on Tuesday advised people harvesting crabs on the state's southern coast to clean the crustaceans thoroughly before eating them because of domoic acid risk.

Washington state this year shortened its Dungeness crab fishing season along most of its coast because of the toxin, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish lead biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Domoic acid poisoning from the ingestion of tainted crabs can cause vomiting and dizziness and in severe cases lead to seizures or death, California's Public Health Department said in a statement.