Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: California removes limits on sardine fishing after domoic acid concerns pass

June 16, 2025 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has removed limits on sardine fishing in Southern California, declaring the fish once again safe for human consumption.

The state had initially limited sardine fishing from Point Conception south to the Mexico border after the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the State Public Health Officer at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) determined that elevated levels of domoic acid in sardines posed a risk to human health. Domoic acid, which is a naturally occurring neurotoxin emitted by marine algae, can accumulate in fish and cause several health issues, even proving fatal in some cases, for humans.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

California: Surprise Drop in Domoic Acid Levels in N. California Mean Fisheries Are Clear; Oregon to Retest Also

January 3, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Late Friday, before New Year’s weekend, California state agencies released welcome news: recent testing showed a commercial lobster area could be opened and an advisory lifted for sport crabbing north of the Klamath River in northern California.

State agencies have been testing for domoic acid, a naturally occurring neurotoxin, routinely in the fall and winter in anticipation of opening closed lobster areas and lifting crabbing advisory for sport fishermen or opening the commercial crab season.

On Friday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham lifted the commercial spiny lobster fishery closure on the southeast side of Santa Cruz Island east of 119°40.000’ W. longitude, west of 119° 30.00’ W, and south of 34°00.000’ N. latitude as recommended by state health agencies, the state notice said. According to the notice from the Director of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, sampling of spiny lobster and analysis of samples by California Department of Public Health laboratories indicates that consumption of spiny lobster taken from this area no longer poses a significant threat for domoic acid exposure, it continued.

On Oct. 24, 2017, state health agencies determined that spiny lobster in waters around Anacapa Island, Ventura County and the east end of Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County had unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended closure of the commercial fishery in this area.

The commercial closure remains in effect in all state waters around the northeast end of Santa Cruz Island east of 119°40.000’ W. longitude, west of 119° 30.00’ W, and north of 34°00.000’ N. latitude and the south side of Anacapa Island east of 119°30.000’ W, west of 119°20.000’ W, and south of 34°00.000’ N latitude. The closures will remain in effect until state agencies determine domoic acid no longer poses a significant risk to public health.

At the same time, CDPH lifted the last remaining health advisory for Dungeness crab caught along the California Coast in sport fisheries. CDPH lifted this advisory Friday due to recent tests showing that the amount of domoic acid has declined to low or undetectable levels in Dungeness crab caught in the area, indicating that they are safe to consume. The final health advisory lifted Friday was for Dungeness crab caught north of the Klamath River mouth, Del Norte County (41°32.500’ N. lat.) to the Oregon border.

The advisory lifting for the sport fishery gives commercial crabbers in Northern California they might be able to set gear on Jan. 15.

However, the second test in a row of clear crab from Pt. St. George Reef in northern California was a surprise to Oregon fishery managers who scrambled to get vessels out to harvest crab for testing in Southern Oregon. Without two clear tests in a row of domoic acid, at least seven days apart, Oregon managers will have to work with Tri-State managers to determine when and how to allow commercial fishing in southern Oregon and northern California.

Tri-State fishery managers already have announced a Jan. 15, 2018, commercial fishery opening north of Cape Blanco, near Port Orford, Oregon.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

California Seeks Federal Disaster Declarations for Commercial Crab Fishing

February 9, 2016 — In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. today requested federal declarations of a fishery disaster and a commercial fishery failure in response to the continued presence of unsafe levels of domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin, in Dungeness and rock crab fisheries across California and the corresponding closures of those fisheries.

‘Crabs are a vital component of California’s natural resources and provide significant aesthetic, recreational, commercial, cultural and economic benefits to our state,’ Governor Brown said in the letter to Secretary Pritzker. ‘Economic assistance will be critical for the well-being of our fishing industry and our state.’

In early November 2015, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), in consultation with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), recommended a closure based on unsafe levels of domoic acid found in crab tissue that was likely to pose a human health risk. Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin that can accumulate in shellfish and other invertebrates. At high levels, it can cause persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and death. At low levels, domoic acid can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness.

Read the full story at Noodls