Copyright Santa Rosa Press Democrat
There’s a catch to this year’s crab season and it’s not just in the traps. The recreational Dungeness crab season opened Saturday along the Sonoma Coast, but state officials are warning fishers about potentially dangerous levels of domoic acid in the crabs’ internal organs. In a health advisory issued Oct. 24, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Public Health said unhealthy levels of the naturally occurring toxin have been found in the viscera, or the internal organs of the crab. Officials warned that cooking the crab does not destroy the toxin, advising fishers to not ingest any part of the viscera. Domoic acid poisoning in humans can cause nausea, dizziness and in severe cases, even memory loss or death, public health officials cautioned. The health advisory is in effect for fishers from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line stretching down to Point Reyes. Despite the warnings, recreational crabbers can still hit the seas, unlike Bodega Bay’s Dick Ogg and other commercial fisherman who have been sidelined following seven straight years of season delays to protect endangered marine life from entanglements. For Ogg, who predicts the commercial season will once again not open until January, and other fishermen across the state, these delays take a major toll on their profit margins. “The impact is significant,” Ogg said Saturday. “What we have lost is our Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s crab market. Everything has been pushed ahead to when people are less interested in getting the resource. It’s a lot more difficult and the financial impact to everyone is pretty significant.” In addition to serving as the president of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association, Ogg also helps conduct the domoic acid studies on Dungeness crabs in the region. Unsafe domoic acid levels can delay the commercial season, Ogg said, since the crabs are harvested and sold to consumers. Recreational fishers can eat Dungeness crab at their own risk, he added. With at least two months until the commercial opener, Ogg said he is not yet worried about the toxins delaying his season any further but only time and continued testing will tell. Fish and wildlife officials will keep domoic acid test results updated on their designated webpage.
