Politics & Government

Paralytic Shellfish Poison at 'Lethal Levels' in Day Island, Carr Inlet

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department says toxins have increased to lethal levels in shellfish samples collected from Carr Inlet.

(Editor's note: The following is from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department)

Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) toxins have increased to lethal levels in shellfish samples collected from Carr Inlet in Pierce Coun y. As a result, Washington State Department of Health has closed many Pierce County beaches to recreational shellfish harvesting.

Affected beaches include those from Point Fosdick south to Devils Head, including all of Carr Inlet and McNeil Island. Commencement Bay and the Narrows south to Point Fosdick, including Days Island, are also closed.

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Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has posted advisory signs warning people not to collect shellfish, including includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of mollusks, from these areas:

  • Purdy Sand Spit
  • Penrose State Park
  • Home Boat Launch
  • Longbranch Marina
  • Longbranch Boat Launch
  • Wollochet Bay Boat Launch
  • Kopachuk State Park
  • Horsehead Bay
  • Fox Island Bridge
  • DeMolay Sand Spit & Nature Preserve
  • Narrows Park
  • Days Island Marina
  • Sunrise Beach County Park

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Crab and shrimp are not included in the closure.

PSP poisoning, which can be life-threatening, occurs when people eat shellfish containing a potent neurotoxin. A naturally occurring marine organism produces the toxin, and cooking or freezing does not destroy it.

You can’t detect PSP by looking at the water or the shellfish. Only laboratory testing can detect PSP. For this reason, the term “red tide” is misleading and inaccurate.

Conditions are changing rapidly and DOH may close additional beaches. Recreational shellfish harvesters can the Department of Health Biotoxin Hotline at (800) 562-5632 or access the Biotoxin website at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm before harvesting shellfish anywhere in Puget Sound.


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