A mussel sample taken from Ediz Hook earlier this week has led to the closure for shellfish harvesting of additional beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca because of elevated levels of the potentially deadly paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP.
Strait beaches from Dungeness Spit west to Cape Flattery now are closed to recreational harvesting of all species of shellfish.
A sample from Ediz Hook taken Tuesday was found to contain 256 micrograms of PSP — also is known as red tide — per 100 grams of tissue, said Jerry Borchert of the state Department of Health shellfish program, on Thursday.
The safety threshold is 80 micrograms per 100 grams.
The new advisory expands the area of closure announced earlier this month.
The second week of June, beaches from Low Point near the mouth of the Lyre River west to Cape Flattery were closed because of a sample taken near Neah Bay that contained 100 micrograms of PSP per 100 grams of tissue.
Commercial shellfish OK
Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately, and products on the market are safe to eat, health officials have said. Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing.
“In Jefferson County, there’s not much showing up other than in Discovery Bay,” Borchert said.
Although Discovery Bay remains closed only to butter clam harvest, “we’re starting to see numbers increase,” Borchert said.
Some mussel samples have contained 50 to almost 70 micrograms of PSP per 100 grams of tissue, he said.
Sequim Bay in Clallam County also is closed to butter clam harvest only.
All ocean beaches currently are closed for the season.
Symptoms of PSP usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet, followed by difficulty breathing. It can be fatal.
All species means clams — including geoduck — oysters, mussels and other invertebrates such as moon snails and scallops.
For information, phone 800-562-5632 or visit ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mogifs/biotoxin.htm.