CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat Sport-Harvested Bivalve Shellfish from Sonoma County

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a news alert on March 13 about positive testing for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins in Sonoma County shellfish. The CDPH is “advising consumers not to eat recreationally harvested mussels, clams, or whole scallops from Sonoma County.” The advisory does not apply to commercially sold shellfish from state-certified harvesters.

Toxins that cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning are not removed by cooking the shellfish. According to the warning, “PSP toxins affect the central nervous system, producing a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish. These symptoms are typically followed by loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur.”

Warnings about shellfish toxins come a week after similar warnings were issued in Marin County. Since then, one individual has been hospitalized in Marin County after consuming shellfish harvested on a Marin County beach.

Phytoplankton blooms in the ocean are the source of the harmful toxins. Bivalve shellfish such as mussels, clams, and scallops ingest and retain the toxins at levels dangerous to humans. These blooms tend to thrive during the spring and fall due to ocean currents, water temperature, and other factors.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the warnings will be active for at least several weeks and will not be lifted until multiple tests confirm the shellfish are safe to consume.

Interim Sonoma County Public Health Officer, Dr. Karen Holbrook, has requested that Sonoma County Regional Parks post signage in English and Spanish along the Sonoma coast to warn potential harvesters about the dangers of shellfish toxins.

The California Department of Public Health is directing public inquiries about Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning to a toll-free shellfish information line at (800) 553-4133. Information is also available online at the CDPH Marine Biotoxin Monitoring page at www.cdph.ca.gov.