Restaurants assure customers their shellfish is safe

A public health alert from the state this week said to stay away from certain seafood caught in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. Toxic acids were found in some of these species, and if you’re not careful, you could get sick.

High levels of Domoic Acids were found in Monterey Bay. The Department of Public Health is asking people to avoid eating recreationally harvest mussels and clams, commercially or recreationally caught anchovies and sardines or the internal organs of commercially or recreationally caught crab, also known as crab butter. The warning does not apply to shellfish from approved sources.

“The shellfish that we are getting right now comes from up north,” Gaspar Catanzaro of the Monterey Fish Company said. “Washington, Northern California.”

Other local restaurants say they get mussels and oysters from out of the area.

The Sea Harvest Fish Market and Restaurant in Moss Landing is very strict when it comes to their customers’ safety. They have at least five boats in its fleet. The product brought in is handpicked by the manager. And it doesn’t stop there, with warning signs alerting people to raw and undercooked meats and shellfish. Servers also inform customers about the risks.

“You know if you’re uncomfortable,” Catanzaro advises, “Don’t eat it, if you’re uncomfortable.”

Symptoms of Domoic Acid Poisoning can start within 30 minutes after eating toxic seafood. Symptoms can range from vomiting and headache to severe cases of trouble breathing and seizures. The Department of Public Health said there have been no reported illnesses so far.

According to CDPH, in severe cases the victim may experience trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory (a condition known as Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning), coma or death. There have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.

This warning does not apply to commercially sold clams, mussels, scallops or oysters from approved sources. State law permits only state-certified commercial shellfish harvesters or dealers to sell these products. Shellfish sold by certified harvesters and dealers are subject to frequent mandatory testing to monitor for toxins according to CDPH.

To receive updated information about shellfish poisoning and quarantines, call CDPH’s toll-free “Shellfish Information Line” at (800) 553-4133. For additional information visit CDPH’s Natural Marine Toxins: PSP and Domoic Acid Web page.