Shellfish Safety Monitoring
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) is a continuing environmental and health problem in Puget Sound. PSP is an illness caused by eating shellfish which have eaten large numbers of a toxic planktonic organism. When people eat shellfish that have this toxin, they can become very ill and possibly die.
Once every two weeks, as part of an Adopt A Beach Program, the PTMSC collect Blue Mussels. They are sent to the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH), which tests them for the PSP toxin.
The state standard for PSP toxin levels is 80 micrograms per 100 grams. Most of our mussel samples have no PSP toxins levels or, if present, it is found in amounts below the state standard. However, in August of 1997, levels of the toxin reached as high as 679 micrograms per 100 mls, which signaled WSDOH to close nearby beaches to shellfish harvesting.
Photo Credits: PTMSC