PUBLIC HEALTH NOTICE: Please be advised that a mussel tissue sample that the Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People’s Natural Resources staff collected on June 27th contains dangerous, and potentially lethal, levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins, and Citizens should take care to not harvest and consume raw or cooked mussels and other bivalve shellfish in Del Norte and Humboldt Counties until further notice. To learn more or if you have questions, email Marine Natural Resources Manager Michelle Kunst at michelle.kunst@resighinirancheria.com, call 415-717-1838, or visit this website.
Background: The Tribe has been conducting phytoplankton and mussel tissue monitoring since 2022. Between April and October, we collect weekly samples of seawater via a “plankton tow net” and monthly samples of mussel tissue. We collect samples at Omen Hipur (Wilson Creek Beach), Hidden Beach, and Gold Bluffs Beach, and send both phytoplankton and mussel tissue samples to California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for lab analyses, as well as conduct our own in-house microscopy analysis of phytoplankton. Our mussel tissue sample collected on June 27th at Hidden Beach contained 648 ug/100 g PSP toxins, far over the 80 ug/100 g alert limit.
