RED TIDE SHUTS OFF SHELLFISHING; MOST PUGET SOUND BEACHES CLOSED TO MOLLUSK HARVESTING AS OF FRIDAY

BYLINE: Amy Tatko; The News Tribune

Copyright 1999 The News Tribune

The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)

July 24, 1999, Saturday

Most Puget Sound beaches are closed for shellfishing because of a red tide that contaminates clams, oysters and other mollusks, state health officials said Friday.

Nearly all beaches from northern King and Kitsap counties to Johnson's Point in Thurston County are closed to shellfishing, according to Ned Therien of the state Department of Health's Office of Food Safety and Shellfish Programs.

As of Friday afternoon, the only areas still safe for shellfishing were Case Inlet and Hood Canal.

"It seems to be an expanding phenomenon," Therien said.

Red tide is the common name for a marine biotoxin called paralytic shellfish poison. It is a single-cell plankton that can multiply and turn the water red, Therien said. Sometimes a high concentration of the biotoxin occurs without discoloring the water, he said.

Beaches are still open for swimming, fishing and crabbing, unless posted signs indicate the area is closed for other reasons. The toxin does not make fish and crabs unsafe for consumption, Therien said, but clams, oysters, mussels and scallops absorb it and become contaminated with high concentrations of the toxin.

People should not eat any shellfish from closed areas. "The toxin is not destroyed when you cook it," Therien said.

* Staff writer Amy Tatko covers health and medicine. Reach her at 253-597-8541 or amy.tatko@mail.tribnet.com.

SIDEBAR:

For more information about a specific beach area, call the shellfish program hot line at 1-800-562-5632 or see its Web site at www.doh.wa.gov.

LOAD-DATE: July 27, 1999