Bad publicity could be toxic for Dungeness crab

摘要

Season of uncertainty: Unusually persistent warm ocean temperatures have affected the West Coast in multiple ways. The impact on California's crab fisheries hit home in mid-November, when the state's Fish and Game Commission decided to temporarily close the commercial rock crab and Dungeness crab seasons.Central California's Nov. 15 Dungeness season opener was cancelled due to high levels of domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by algae that thrives in warm waters. The northern region's Dec. 1 opening also was closed as crab samples continued to bear unsafe toxin levels.