PORT TOWNSEND– The state Department of Health has reopened Port Townsend Bay to recreational shellfish harvesting, after test results collected last week showed no high levels of biotoxins.
Along with the bay, Admiralty Inlet, Mystery Bay and Kilisut Harbor is safe for the harvesting of all shellfish species except for butter clams.
The beaches were reopened after there are no toxins detectable for a one-month period.
Closures remain in effect for Discovery Bay, Mats Mats Bay and Port Ludlow.
Those considered safe are clams (including geoduck), oysters, mussels and other mollusks such as moon snails.
Crab meat is not known to contain toxins, but crabs should be cleaned with the guts removed before eating.
On July 13 the state closed Discovery Bay, Port Ludlow, Mats Mats Bay, Kilisut Harbor, Mystery Bay and Admiralty Inlet after toxin levels of 154 micrograms were detected earlier this week in a mussel sample at Fort Flagler.
The following day closures of Fort Flagler, Old Fort Townsend, Chimacum Beach and beaches in Port Townsend and Port Hadlock were imposed.
High levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, prompted closures of beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Neah Bay to Discovery Bay — including a commercial tract near Jamestown — in mid-June.
Symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, with the tingling moving to the hands and feet followed by difficulty breathing and potentially death.
Any one experiencing these symptoms should contact a health-care provider. For extreme reactions, dial 9-1-1.
Recreational shellfish harvesters should check the state Health Department website at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm or phone the Health Department’s biotoxin hot line at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in the state.