ANNOUNCEMENT
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
News release: Recreational crabbing closed along south Oregon coast
FOOD & FOOD SAFETY, NEWS RELEASE
FEBRUARY 16TH, 2018
16 VIEWS
The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announce the immediate closure of all recreational crabbing on the southern Oregon coast from Cape Blanco to the California border due to elevated levels of domoic acid. This includes Dungeness and red rock crab harvested in bays and estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties.
Recreational crab harvesting from Cape Blanco north to the Columbia River remains open in bays and estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties.
Meanwhile, for commercial crabbing, ODA and ODFW are requiring that all crab harvested from Cape Blanco to the California border be eviscerated (gutted) before it can be deemed safe for consumption. Domoic acid levels are elevated only in crab viscera, or the guts, of crab sampled and tested from this area of the Oregon coast.
For recreational crab harvesters, it is recommended that crab always be eviscerated prior to cooking, which includes removal and discard of the viscera, internal organs, and gills.
Because of Oregon’s precautionary management of biotoxins, crab and shellfish products currently being sold in retail markets and restaurants are safe for consumers.
Domoic acid or amnesic shellfish toxin can cause minor to severe illness and even death. Severe poisoning can result in dizziness, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea. More severe cases can result in memory loss and death. Shellfish toxins are produced by microscopic algae and originate in the ocean. Toxins cannot be removed by cooking, freezing or any other treatment. ODA will continue to test for toxins in the coming weeks. Removal of the advisory requires two consecutive tests in the safe range.
For more information, call ODA’s shellfish safety information hotline at (800) 448-2474 or visit the ODA shellfish closures web page.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Commercial crab from south coast must be eviscerated to protect public health
Test results from crab viscera samples collected on February 13th indicate domoic acid is again elevated in the southern Oregon area. ODFW and Oregon Dept. of Agriculture (ODA) are immediately designating the area Cape Blanco to the Oregon/California border (Harvest Areas 50-K and 50-L) as a Biotoxin Management Zone and implementing an evisceration order for all crab harvested from the zone on or after February 16, 2018. In addition, ODA is implementing a recall for whole or live crab that were harvested from Area 50-L only (Gold Beach to the Oregon/California border) from February 13th, 2018 through February 15th, 2018.
For further details, please see the ODA industry notice here: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/FoodSafety/Shellfish/Pages/CrabBiotoxinInfo.aspx
