California's Crab Season Will Not Open In Time For Christmas
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- California's Dungeness crab season will not open in time for Christmas.
The latest tests of crab from Crescent City to Monterey in December show levels of domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by microscopic algae, have not dropped below federal safety limits in most fishing grounds on the North and Central coasts.
The season could open sometime in January.
There is a sliver of hope for crab lovers. Determined shoppers should be able to find some out-of-state crab. But supplies are limited, and prices are high, in some cases, twice the usual amount. Much of it is frozen, not live or freshly caught, the newspaper reports.
In mild doses, domoic acid causes gastrointestinal illness and in rare cases may be fatal.
Recent studies found domoic acid toxicosis is causing brain damage with Alzheimer's-like symptoms in marine mammals. California's coastal sea lions and their pups have been severely affected.
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