UPDATE 1-California warns of dangerous toxin in Dungeness, rock crabs

(Adds Washington state, Oregon actions, paragraphs 11-12)
By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES, Nov 4 (Reuters) - California authorities are
moving to suspend the fishing season for Dungeness and rock
crabs due to high levels of a toxin found in the crustaceans
that could cause illness or even death in people who eat them,
officials said on Wednesday.
The California Department of Public Health late on Tuesday
advised consumers to avoid eating Dungeness and rock crabs
caught along the coastline from the state's northern border to
Santa Barbara County.
Elevated levels of domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin
found to have accumulated in the crabs, stem from an
unprecedented algae bloom associated with a huge expanse of
unusually warm Pacific Ocean waters dubbed "the blob."
Scientists say the runaway bloom of pseudo-nitzschia algae,
which emerged in May and has stretched down the Pacific Coast
from Alaska to Southern California, has begun to subside but
could be reactivated by the recent onset of El Nino, a separate
climate pattern that raises sea temperatures.
It remained unclear how long the high levels of acid in the
crabs would persist, according to the health department.
Commercial Dungeness crab harvests in California were valued
last year at $60 million, not including retail sales, while
recreational crabbing generated millions more in economic
activity, said Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the California
Fish and Wildlife Department.
In light of this week's health advisory, the state Fish and
Game Commission on Thursday was scheduled to vote on a proposal
to postpone the opening of the recreational Dungeness crab
season, which was set to begin Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Fish and Wildlife Department said in a
statement that it would delay the start of the commercial season
for Dungeness crab, which was to begin on Nov. 15.
Both commercial and recreational fishing for rock crab is
normally open year-round but the Fish and Wildlife statement
said authorities plan to close those fisheries in areas where
rock crab have high levels of domoic acid.
The crabbing suspensions would mark the first time in memory
that a fishery has been closed in California due to domoic acid
contamination but outbreaks of the toxin have prompted seafood
health advisories in the past, Traverso said.
Oregon officials on Tuesday advised people harvesting crabs
on the state's southern coast to clean the crustaceans
thoroughly before eating them because of domoic acid risk.
Washington state this year shortened its Dungeness crab
fishing season along most of its coast because of the toxin,
said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish lead biologist for the state
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Domoic acid poisoning from the ingestion of tainted crabs
can cause vomiting and dizziness and in severe cases lead to
seizures or death, California's Public Health Department said in
a statement.