Follow-up: CDPH Warns Against Eating Whole Dungeness Crab from Northern California Coast Stretch over Domoic Acid
HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. — The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a health advisory (SN26-024) on November 9 warning consumers not to eat sport-harvested whole Dungeness crab caught in state waters between the Reading Rock State Marine Reserve and the Ten-Mile State Marine Reserve on the Northern California coast, after dangerous levels of domoic acid were detected in the crab's meat and viscera; cooking does not decrease or destroy the toxin.
The advisory updates the department's October 30 warning, which covered the area south of Cape Mendocino down to the Ten-Mile State Marine Reserve; the do-not-eat area now extends north to Reading Rock, covering the whole stretch from Reading Rock to Ten-Mile. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had already delayed the recreational fishery opening in this stretch (reported by GSM on November 5), and California's recreational Dungeness crab season began on November 7.
For Dungeness crab taken from all other open areas, CDPH strongly recommends discarding the viscera, rinsing the crab's body cavity before cooking, and discarding the cooking water or broth, which should not be used for sauces, soups, stews or stocks, because the toxin may leach into the water during cooking.
Domoic acid is a naturally occurring biotoxin, and eating contaminated crab can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning. Symptoms can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours of eating: milder cases include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness and resolve within several days; severe cases can involve trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions and permanent loss of short-term memory, and can progress to coma or death. The advisory does not mention any illnesses reported so far.
CDPH said it is coordinating with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the fishing community to continue testing crab until domoic acid levels dissipate, with test results posted on its domoic acid webpage. The Shellfish Information Line is (800) 553-4133.
Related: California Expands Delayed Dungeness Crab Waters: Toxin Over Limit, Northern Stretch Opens Late
Reference: California Department of Public Health
Source: California Department of Public Health
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：珍宝蟹（资料图）（Cliff 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Photo: A Dungeness crab (file photo) (Cliff, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
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- 2026-11-09Follow-up: CDPH Warns Against Eating Whole Dungeness Crab from Northern California Coast Stretch over Domoic AcidThis story
