NEWPORT — Two state agencies have ordered the closure of all recreational crabbing in the ocean, bays, and estuaries on the southern Oregon coast from eight miles north of Winchester Bay to Cape Blanco near Port Orford.
The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon Agriculture Department said Monday that tests show the marine toxin, domoic acid, is above the human health closure limit.
The agencies said commercial crabbers will be required to clean any crab landed since last Thursday in the area off Coos Bay and starting Monday for harvest areas off Winchester Bay and down to Cape Blanco.
The Department of Agriculture tests for shellfish toxins twice per month, as tides and weather permit. Reopening an area closed for biotoxins requires two consecutive tests with results below the closure limit. Domoic acid is produced by algae and originates in the ocean.
It is recommended that recreational crab harvesters also always eviscerate crab before cooking. This includes removing and discarding the viscera, internal organs and gills.
Crabbers can call the ODA’s shellfish biotoxin safety hotline at 800-448-2474 or visit their webpage before crabbing to get the latest information on closures.
