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All beaches in Whatcom County closed due to red tide contamination

By Meg Olson

Point Roberts beaches, along with all other beaches in the county, remain closed to shellfish harvesting until further notice due to the threat of biotoxin contamination, commonly associated with “red tide.”
“Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a serious illness caused by eating shellfish contaminated with algae that contains a toxin harmful to humans,” warns the state department of health (DOH) web site that updates warnings for Washington beaches. “When this algae increase to high numbers in marine waters, the condition is sometimes (and somewhat erroneously) referred to as a red tide.” Even if the water doesn’t look red, seafood isn’t safe to eat, warn DOH experts: you can’t tell if a clam is PSP contaminated by looking at it.

All shellfish including clams, mussels, oysters, geoduck and scallops can have PSP. While crabmeat is not known to contain the PSP toxin, the guts can contain unsafe levels so the DOH recommends cleaning crab thoroughly and discarding the guts. People who eat contaminated shellfish may become very sick or die, the DOH warns. First signs of poisoning include tingling of the lips and tongue, which may begin within minutes of eating poisonous shellfish or may take an hour or two to develop. Symptoms may progress to tingling of fingers and toes and then loss of control of arms and legs, followed by difficulty in breathing. Some people have experienced a sense of floating or nausea. If a person consumes enough poison, muscles of the chest and abdomen become paralyzed. Death can result in as little as two hours, as muscles used for breathing become paralyzed.

Clam fanciers can call the marine biotoxin hotline at 1-800-562-5632 or check if it’s safe to harvest on the internet at http://ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mogifs/biotoxin.htm

In the summer red tide isn’t the only worry, and shellfish harvesters need to watch out for bacterial contamination due to warmer waters as well. The DOH offers the following tips to stay safe:
Always check the pollution and the biotoxin status of the beach you want to harvest from DOH’s Recreational Beach Maps website.
Harvest as soon as possible after the tide goes out (at the beginning of the tide cycle instead of at the end). Do not harvest oysters that have been exposed to direct sunlight for more than four hours.
Place oysters under refrigeration or on ice as soon as possible or at least within four hours of harvest.

Thoroughly cook your oysters. Unlike PSP, bacteria are destroyed by thorough cooking.