A toxic algae bloom in the Pacific may delay the start of Dungeness crab season and the possibility of a delicious Thanksgiving crab on your table.
State officials are currently testing crabs for the presence of domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can cause memory loss, seizures and even death when consumed by humans. Domoic acid can survive high temperatures, so your crab's dip in a boiling bath won't destroy the danger.
Dungeness crab season is supposed to start on Nov. 7, but fishermen are waiting in limbo while the California Department of Public Health runs tests in the ocean and on crab beds. Test results are due midweek and encompass Dungeness crabs living in eight California ports: Crescent City, Trinidad, Eureka, Fort Bragg, Bodega Bay, San Francisco/Half Moon Bay, Monterey and Morro Bay.
"Everything kind of is up in the air right now," California Fish and Wildlife Department spokeswoman Jordan Traverso told the Press Democrat.
This summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the algae bloom off California was one of the biggest ever observed. Domoic acid levels in Monterey Bay were the highest ever, and scientists were mystified as to why exactly the algae was proliferating, although unusually warm ocean waters are thought to be a piece of the puzzle.
"This is unprecedented in terms of the extent and magnitude of this harmful algal bloom and the warm water conditions we're seeing offshore," Northwest Fisheries Science Center leader Vera Trainer said. "Whether they're related we can't really say yet."
Crab season has already taken a hit in Washington state, where the algae bloom shut down crabbing over the summer. The Dungeness crab industry reels in $200 million a year on the West Coast, and after a slow salmon season, many fishermen are desperate for big crab hauls.
"I'm a little worried but I think it'll be alright," fisherman Tres Barrus told CBS San Francisco. "I'm trying not to think too much on it."
