The recreational harvest of shellfish has been prohibited on the entire west side of Whidbey Island from Deception Pass south to Possession Point.

Marine biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) were detected and found to be above the closure level in shellfish samples collected from Useless Bay and Scatchet Head.

Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to consume. There are no indications of the toxin in shellfish samples from the east side of the island.

The closure, effective immediately, did not catch the county off-guard. The west side of Puget Sound had been experiencing problems for several weeks, said Island County Health Officer Roger Case.

“We have anticipated this,” he said. “We expected it a couple weeks ago.”

Extremely high levels of PSP have also been detected in shellfish samples from the west side of Admiralty Inlet.

Inclement weather could bring an end to the closures, although the timeline is uncertain at this point, Case said.

Kathleen Parvin of Island County Public Health reiterated the tenuousness of predicting when the beaches could reopen.

“It’s always unknown when we have a marine biotoxin,” the environmental health specialist said.

Testing will continue until and the beaches will remain closed until the shellfish receive a clean bill of health.

Signs have been posted at high-use beaches warning people not to collect shellfish from those areas. The closure prohibits the recreational harvest of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other species of molluscan shellfish. Crab is excluded from the closure, but the “crab butter” should be discarded and only the meat eaten.

Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing, making them potentially life-threatening. People can become ill from eating shellfish contaminated with the naturally-occurring marine algae that contains toxins harmful to humans.

Symptoms of PSP, which can appear within mere minutes or as long as hours, typically beings with tingling lips and tongue, traveling to the hands and feet and followed by difficulty breathing and possibly death.

Anyone experiencing symptoms should contact a healthcare provider. In extreme conditions, those afflicted should call 911.

In most cases, the algae that contain the toxins cannot be seen and must be detected using laboratory testing. Before recreationally harvesting shellfish anywhere in the state, people should check the Department of Health Web site at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm or call the Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-562-5632.