Overview
- Bay Area health officials now urge people not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clams, scallops, or oysters from Marin, Sonoma, and San Mateo counties after testing found high paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins.
- California’s annual six-month quarantine blocks eating recreationally gathered mussels along the entire coast, with mussels allowed for bait only if containers state in bold letters that they are unfit for human food.
- The statewide warning does not cover commercial shellfish from approved sources because licensed harvesters test their product for toxins before sale.
- Paralytic shellfish toxins and domoic acid occur naturally in algae, survive cooking, and can trigger symptoms soon after a meal, with PSP often striking within hours and domoic acid within 30 minutes to 24 hours.
- State and local agencies pair the seasonal ban with year-round monitoring and targeted advisories because toxin levels lack predictable cycles and can spike without warning.