Are Alaska’s Wild Shellfish Still Safe to Eat?

March 31, 2020

Shellfish, a winter-time subsistence resource for coastal communities, may no longer be reliably safe to eat. Shellfish feed by ingesting algae from the water column. Increasingly, algae that produce toxins are contributing to their diet and accumulating in the meat. Most notable, Alexandrium, found world-wide, can produce Saxitoxin, the toxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (or PSP). PSP can manifest with mild symptoms, like tingling of the lips, or severe symptoms including paralysis leading to death from suffocation. Symptoms can occur within minutes of eating just one contaminated clam.  Other toxins produced by algae in Alaska include diarrheic shellfish poisoning and amnesic shellfish poisoning which can cause memory loss.

With more coastline than the rest of the United States combined, Alaska does not have a state-funded program to test shellfish for potential toxins. In the past, limiting shellfish harvests to months that contain an “R” in the name (September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April) was enough to avoid PSP, which can spike during the summer months the algae that produces the toxins, are most abundant. But independent shellfish testing around the state indicate dangerous levels of toxins throughout the year, likely due to warmer ocean temperatures. These toxins can take months to flush out of little necks and butter clams, and if toxic levels are high enough, these important winter subsistence foods can be toxic year-round.  

Through a loose network of 16 tribes in southeastern Alaska, and with the help of volunteers and tribal environmental staff, Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) in Sitka is collecting and testing shellfish from frequently harvested beaches and tracking the data to alert users and the Department of Environmental Conservation when toxic levels exceed regulatory limits. To learn more.