State halts commercial crabbing after dangerous contamination found
A boat sits loaded with crab pots at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Wildlife authorities delayed the Dungeness crab season and closed the rock crab fishery for most of California after warning of toxic algae.
Worried about contamination of shellfish with a toxin that is potentially dangerous to humans, California officials on Friday put strict limits on commercial crabbing.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an emergency rule that delays the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season, which was scheduled to open Nov. 15, and shuts the year-round commercial catches of rock crab.
A toxic bloom of algae along the coast is to blame.
“Crab is an important part of California’s culture and economy, and I did not make this decision lightly,” department Director Charlton H. Bonham said in a statement. “But doing everything we can to limit the risk to public health has to take precedence.”
The order affects all ocean waters, including bays and estuaries, north of the Ventura/Santa Barbara county line and will remain in effect until officials determine that domoic acid levels no longer pose a significant risk to public health, according to the announcement.
Tests on crabs will continue.
Domoic acid is a toxin that can kill birds and shellfish that consume it in the algae. For humans who eat the toxic crabs, low levels of exposure can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness; high dosages can lead to memory loss, seizures and death, officials said.
Warmer ocean water temperatures due to the El Niño may be allowing the algae bloom to expand more than usual.
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