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Seafood Update By Odessa

By Anonymous
At MVMS I know we have people who love seafood and people who absolutely hate it. I know that I love crab with melted butter on a brisk day. It's delicate yumminess is so worth prying through the tough shell, it makes it even more enticing. I was disappointed when I heard rumors of bad crab this season. So I decided to do some more research and break it down in friendlier terms.
The El Niño has plagued our minds for a while, our savior for this thirsty drought. Unfortunately a mammoth algae bloom is a consequence. And for the people like me who don’t exactly know what an ‘algae bloom or algal bloom’ is, I’ll explain. It is a rapid increase of a population of algae which are usually microscopic in water. They grow out of control, while producing toxic and destructive effects on us and shellfish etc.

The one of the toxins in the crabs is called domoic acid and this bloom is of unheard of size. The Public Health Department is already declaring certain kinds of seafood unsafe. Dungeness crab which is a common dish is advised not to eat, because of high levels of this acid. If you have domoic acid poisoning you will know within 30 minutes and it will be torturous with vomiting, dizziness etc., a severe case can even lead to death. You do not want to get domoic acid poisoning, but there are ways to avoid it and still eat crab, because the toxins are mainly found in the intestines, but I plead to you to inquire before a hearty meal of crab.
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