PORT TOWNSEND — Recreational shellfish harvest closures have been expanded to two new locations on the North Olympic Peninsula, while the state Department of Health has re-opened another.
Shellfish samples from Fort Flagler and Mystery Bay have been found to contain elevated levels of marine biotoxins that cause potentially deadly paralytic shellfish poisoning.
The Department of Health has closed Admiralty Inlet and Port Townsend Bay for recreational shellfish harvest, it announced Thursday.
Admiralty Inlet is closed from North Beach south to Kinney Point, including Port Townsend Bay.
Commercially harvested shellfish are tested for toxins prior to distribution and should be safe to eat.
South of the Hood Canal Bridge, marine biotoxins have declined and an earlier closure has been lifted.
The reopened area is on the Jefferson County shore from the Hood Canal Bridge to Brown’s Point on the Toandos Peninsula.
Mystery Bay and Kilisut Harbor remain closed for recreational shellfish harvest due to high levels of the biotoxin.
The closed area includes all of Kilisut Harbor and Fort Flagler State Park.
The Hood Canal area south of the Jefferson County line remains closed.
A vibrio contamination warning remains in place in the Jefferson County Hood Canal area.
All shellfish harvested from the Hood Canal area should be cooked prior to consumption.
Elsewhere in Jefferson County, closures include Discovery Bay, the area around Port Ludlow, including Mats Mats Bay.
In Clallam County, beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Pillar Point east to the Jefferson County line are closed to recreational harvest of all species of shellfish, as are Sequim and Discovery bays.
Ocean beaches in both counties are closed for the season.
Danger signs are posted or will be posted at commonly used public access points where beaches are closed to harvesting.
The new closure is for harvest of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish.
Crabmeat is not known to contain the biotoxin but the guts can contain unsafe levels. Clean crab thoroughly and discard the guts (also known as the “butter”).
Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing.
Symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning (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 potentially death.
Recreational shellfish harvesters should check the shellfish safety map at www.doh.wa.gov/ShellfishSafety.htm or call the biotoxin hotline at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in the state.
Recreational harvesters should also check Fish and Wildlife regulations and seasons at www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish or call the hotline at 866-880-5431.
