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Mass. To Begin Testing Shellfish For Red Tide

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Jun 16, 2008 2:35 pm US/Eastern

Mass. To Begin Testing Shellfish For Red Tide

BOSTON (AP) ― The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries plans this week to begin testing shellfish harvested from federal waters that may have been affected by red tide.
 
Surf clams and quahogs will be tested for the toxin that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Bureau of Environmental Health Director Suzanne Condon says the testing is a precautionary measure. Eating contaminated shellfish can be fatal, though no human case of red tide poisoning has been reported in Massachusetts since the early 1990s.

The red tide does not affect lobsters, crabs and scallops.

Due to increased toxin levels, the state has closed shellfish beds along portions of the state's coastline.

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