Whatcom County health officials have found unsafe levels of a marine biotoxin new to the area in shellfish samples taken from Semiahmoo Spit.

Regular tests of shellfish samples have revealed diarrhetic shellfish poison (DSP) for the first time in saltwater in Whatcom County, health department program manager Tom Kunesh said. Shellfish samples from Birch Bay, Bellingham Bay and Semiahmoo spit all contained DSP, though only shellfish off Semiahmoo showed higher levels of the toxin than the state health department allows.

Whatcom County beaches remain closed to recreational shellfish harvesting after dangerous levels of the deadly paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) were found in shellfish samples.

 

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