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Domoic Acid Widens California's Sport Crab Delay in Humboldt County
Recreational Dungeness crabbing is now closed from Reading Rock to the Ten Mile reserve in Mendocino County.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel has delayed the recreational Dungeness crab fishery from the southern boundary of the Reading Rock State Marine Protected Areas (41°17.6' N) to Cape Mendocino (40°10' N) in Humboldt County, after state health agencies found elevated levels of domoic acid in crab there, the department says.
That adds to the delay ordered October 30 for southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties. The closed area now runs from Reading Rock to the southern boundary of the Ten Mile State Marine Reserve (39°33.3' N). Taking or possessing Dungeness crab in those waters is prohibited until the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, with the state public health officer, says domoic acid no longer poses a significant risk. The October order also restricts recreational crab traps because of whale entanglement risk.
Domoic acid is a neurotoxin made by a naturally occurring marine alga. At low levels it can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness; at higher levels, memory loss, seizures and sometimes death. CDFW's domoic acid fishery line is (831) 649-2883, and the state health department's biotoxin line is (800) 553-4133.
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