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poshie
10-10-2002, 05:34 PM
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Type Recreational Shellfish Closure Status
Start Date 10/10/2002
End Date Until Further Notice
Summary Shellfish harvesting closed on Clatsop & Tillamook beaches due to elevated levels of domoic acid
Contact Deb Cannon
Oregon Dept of Agriculture
Food Safety Division
Shellfish Program
635 Capitol St NE
Salem, OR 97301-2532
(503) 986-4728
dcannon@oda.state.or.us
Click Here for Washington State Biotoxin Information

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October 10, 2002… The Oregon Department of Agriculture announces the closure of recreational and commercial harvesting of clams and mussels on beaches and ocean spits from the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria to Lookout Point south of Netarts Bay. Laboratory tests indicate domoic acid levels in razor clams collected from Clatsop Beaches have risen above the safe level.

All bays in the affected areas are open except for the jetties at the entrances to the bays. Clamming is also prohibited inside the mouth of the Columbia River. Bait harvesting is not allowed during toxin closures.

Any razor clams harvested on Clatsop Beach since Saturday, October 5, 2002, should be destroyed and not consumed. Eating shellfish contaminated with domoic acid, at these low levels, can cause minor illness within minutes to hours after consumption. In mild cases, flu-like symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and headache. If you experience these symptoms after consuming razor clams, you should contact your physician.

Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin produced by marine phytoplankton or algae. Poisoning can cause short term memory loss and is also called amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). The toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking, adding baking soda, or any other method.

Commercial razor clams harvested since October 5, 2002, are being recalled. Individuals with razor clams purchased since October 5, 2002, should destroy the clams or return them to the store where purchased.

Only the adductor muscle meat should be eaten from scallops harvested from the Oregon Coast. Crab do not concentrate domoic acid in the meat and are not affected by this closure. However, recreational harvesters are advised not to eat the crab viscera, or guts, at this time.

Commercial oysters and bay clams are sampled directly and products on the market are safe. All bays on the Oregon coast have tested safe and are not closed.

For more information, call ODA's shellfish line (503) 986-4728, Deb Cannon at ODA’s Food Safety Division (503) 986-4720, or the ODA web page (www.oda.state.or.us) for Warnings and Alerts.

[ 10-10-2002, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: posh II ]

Jennie@ifish
10-10-2002, 07:07 PM
Thank you for posting that!!!
:smile:
Jen

Wright Angle
10-10-2002, 07:17 PM
Well thats just great....friends and I dug 5 limits at sunset beach early this morning :sick:

Thanks for the heads up

Miss B Haven
10-10-2002, 07:25 PM
Oh man - I can't eat my crab guts this weekend? :shocked: Darn! :grin:

Wright Angle
10-10-2002, 07:37 PM
Yes Miss B Haven, I guess I can't eat my crab guts tonight ether :grin:

Man Im missing out all the way around :rolleyes:

Oh well we still had a great day :smile:

poshie
10-10-2002, 07:38 PM
:smile: You're welcome Jen...I got a very nice personal email early today and I think you must have received something about the same time but mine did include that info I posted.
I've been having a personal email conversation
since last week with an unnamed person and really griping about the lack of information on the website and how there needs to be a quicker way to get to anything on clamming.
Time and time again people ask the same questions over and over and particularly about the toxin effect on crabs.
I spent over 2o minutes last week looking for the infor on their website and never did pull
up infor on razors....course, the Dept of Agri
is the one that makes the judgement calls on the toxin tests..
I believe that the ODWF will make some changes in the web........more user friendly....
if the budget allows :grin: :grin:

Wingman
10-11-2002, 08:09 AM
Great! I got mine on the 5th. Gotta put em in the trash...

OceanBlue
10-11-2002, 08:18 AM
Bigtime bummer. Pilar and I got 2 limits on the 5th and again on the 6th.

We had some on the 6th and thankfully, no ill effects. Remaining clams go into the trash, though :depressed:

HawgJaw
10-11-2002, 09:09 AM
What is the crab viscera? Is that the lungs? HJ

BottomFeeder
10-11-2002, 09:13 AM
HawgJaw,

You must be from the deep-deep south if you think crab have lungs.

-BottomFeeder

TundraIII
10-11-2002, 09:25 AM
Hawgjaw, the viscera is all the yellow soupy crap, the brown crap, fat, and all that gross stuff that really makes your garbage can smell like low tide :shocked: My Fillipino neighbors grub on that stuff with no ill effects, yuck. I had always thought that crab viscera contained toxins all the time and should not be eaten no matter what, but what do I know. It would take 12 beers and a double dog dare to get me to gack some of that glop down, yeesh...

The Bad Fish
10-11-2002, 09:57 AM
that crap is also refered to as ( crab butter) so if someone offers you that just say..the only butter i eat is from cows in tillamook. honestly.. who on earth would find that stuff appealing.. kb

Smily
10-11-2002, 10:10 AM
Does this mean no crabbing or just clams and mussels? I was thinking of going to Nehalem in the morning. I wanted to put a couple of traps out and try to drown a herring or 2.

:smile: Smily :smile:

The Bad Fish
10-11-2002, 10:12 AM
crabs are ok .. dont eat the guts. no clams, mussels, ,oysters, scallops, sea urchins etc ...

Pitch Pocket
10-11-2002, 10:13 AM
It says that crabbing is ok as long as you eat the meat and not the viscera. The toxins are not stored in the crab's meat.

TundraIII
10-11-2002, 10:16 AM
Crab are not affected by the closure so go and drop your pots, just dont eat the guts man. If you fish above Wheeler be prepared for the teasing of your life. The river is absolutely frothing with fish that are more interested in acrobatics than eating.

p.s. From what I understood of the Official Alert posting, oysters are o.k.

[ 10-11-2002, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: TundraIII ]

Smily
10-11-2002, 10:17 AM
Woohoo!! :grin:

Thanks guys

:smile: Smily :smile:

fishisabonus
10-11-2002, 02:08 PM
I am really glad I am not of Asian decent. I don't eat crab guts or fish heads. Nasty stuff. graemlins/berry.gif

will_e_fish
10-11-2002, 03:56 PM
Pilars Mate- save those clams for bait or put them in a crab trap. Dont toss them they still have value. I do that with all the stuff in the freezer that doesn't get used in a timely manner. It is a great way to get rid of old stuff items your'e not sure about. Crabs really don't mind.

Sturgeon 42
10-11-2002, 03:59 PM
Wingman where's your story, seems like alot of newbies on lately without stories.... :grin: :grin: :grin:

Steelheadman
10-12-2002, 08:26 AM
They closed Washington beaches, for razor clams, on 1 October. We (my wife, her parents, and our kids) were going to go to Long Beach and opted to go to Gearhart Oregon instead after my wife talked to the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture. First time razor clamming for me. Got our limits the evening of the 4th, 5th, and the morning of the 6th. Ate some razor clams Saturday night the 5th, and again on Monday night the 7th. Sure was a lot of work cleaning them but they sure are good. The kids don't like them. So far no problems. This warning does no good for those that ate them last weekend. I was looking forward to eating some clam chowder today. Anybody else on the board get sick from these clams? :whazzup:

BottomFeeder
10-12-2002, 08:11 PM
I dug on the 7th at Seaside. They ate fine, no problems. I know about 10 other people that dug and ate clams about the same timeframe and they had no issues.

-BottomFeeder

chummer
10-13-2002, 09:35 PM
I don't know if I should thank the dept. of agriculture for warning me about the increased toxin levels or chew some a$$ for taking so dad-gummed long. Washington knew their clams were bad BEFORE everyone dug em up, and shut down the season. What takes Oregon sooo long? Oh by the way, that crab butter in the crab is delicious!! No joke, tastes like popcorn butter, dip your crab meat in it and enjoy. We learned this from the guy who rents out traps and boats down by wheeler, he's also a diver.

poshie
10-13-2002, 11:39 PM
As long as toxin is present, I wouldn't be eating the crab butter.

Clamman
10-17-2002, 11:09 AM
Chummer and all,

In defense of the department of agriculture, tests were done in a similar time frame as what WDFW did. On 9/23 samples were taken and the levels were almost undetectable. In that same time period Washingtons tests also came back well below the alert level. Washington had another test on 9/30 and that is when their test showed levels above the alert level. Oregon had tests 3 days later and the levels were still well below the alert level. Washington had yet another test done on 10/6 and the levels had continued to rise. Oregon had a test on 10/7 and our levels had climbed above the alert level for the first time. The levels climbed faster than Washingtons test did and the department of agriculture decided that on 10/5 the levels had probably been above the alert. That is why they decided to recall all clams caught from that time period.

Unlike Washington, Oregon does not have a budget to fund a bunch of these expensive tests. There are also some logistics involved since we are dealing with night time tides, having the test done in Portland and having to ship the samples there.

Had Washington had a season planned to run like Oregon's (no days off) then they would have been in a similar situation. The toxins run their own schedule, so it is pointless to blame anyone.

The alert level is set by the FDA, so Washington and Oregon shut beaches down at the same levels. There are reported cases of domoic acid poisoning on the East Coast and in the Puget Sound area. Oregon coastal residents also have had mild cases, most recently in 1998 and 1999. None were fatal, but this toxin is not something to be messed around with. Just because people who ate infected clams this time and didn't get ill, doesn't mean that it couldn't happen the next time.

I would also be cautious eating the "crab-butter" even outside of a toxin closure.