PORT TOWNSEND — The state Department of Health has closed Discovery Bay to recreational harvest of all shellfish species after clam samples were found to have high levels of the biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, Jefferson County Public Health announced Wednesday.
The county public health department said it had posted warning signs at public access points in Discovery Bay.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) can be fatal. Illness is caused by eating shellfish contaminated with toxins from the naturally occurring marine plankton Alexandrium.
The biotoxin is not destroyed by cooking or freezing contaminated shellfish.
Symptoms of PSP can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet, followed by difficulty breathing and paralysis.
Anyone experiencing any of these symptoms after consuming shellfish should contact a healthcare provider immediately. For extreme reactions, call 911.
Closed only to harvesting of butter clams and varnish clams, species that hold onto toxins for a long period of time, are Sequim Bay; Oak Bay and Port Ludlow, including Mats Mats Bay; and Kilisut Harbor, including Mystery Bay and Fort Flagler State Park.
Ocean beaches are seasonally closed to harvesting of all species of shellfish.
To find out which areas in Washington are safe to harvest shellfish, check the Shellfish Safety map at www.doh.wa.gov/ShellfishSafety.htm or call the Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-562-5632.
