The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has closed all shellfishing in Martha’s Vineyard waters, except for the harvesting of bay scallops, according to Oak Bluffs shellfish constable David Grunden. The closure is due to an expanding phytoplankton bloom that shut down shellfishing in Buzzards Bay last Thursday.
Edgartown shellfish constable Paul Bagnall said it is a “precautionary closure.” He said samples were sent off Monday morning. If no phytoplankton bloom is discovered in Island shellfish the closure could be lifted, possibly as early as Wednesday.
The phytoplankton Pseudo-nitzschia, when concentrated in the gut of shellfish, can cause Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). ASP symptoms include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps within 24 hours of ingestion. In more severe cases, neurological symptoms develop within 48 hours and include headache, dizziness, confusion, disorientation, loss of short-term memory, motor weakness, seizures, profuse respiratory secretions, cardiac arrhythmias, coma, and possible death. Short term memory loss can be permanent.
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