(CNN)Maine’s Department of Marine Resources has recalled mussels and clams harvested in the state after some tested positive for a deadly neurotoxin.
There are no reports of anyone getting sick. The department issued the recall after tests found the toxin, domoic acid, at a level that is higher than the established threshold.
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Last year, after El Nio warmed the ocean waters, creating the perfect environment for it, the West Coast saw one of the largest harmful algal blooms in more than a decade. That meant crabbing season was closed in Washington, California and Oregon. Washington has had to cancel at least three razor clam seasons since the ’90s.
People aren’t the only ones who can get sick from eating the shellfish and fish. Over the years the toxin has been blamed for the death of whales and birds. In 1961 there was an incident in which hundreds of birds attacked people and dived through windows and crashed into trees in Capitola, California. It’s believed the birds had been suffering from domoic acid poisoning. The incident was said to have inspired the Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds.”
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/health/mussels-and-clams-recalled-maine/index.html