The state has lifted its annual ban on the sport harvesting of mussels on the California Coast, including in the Tri-Counties.
The California Department of Public Health typically imposes this restriction from May 1 to October 31 due to the danger of shellfish poisoning caused by naturally occurring marine biotoxins.
Typically, during the spring and summer months, there's a higher risk of toxins developing in certain shellfish because of the marine plankton they consume. There were no reported cases of shellfish-related poisonings this year.
While the mussel quarantine was lifted on the coast, a warning for sport-harvested mussels, clams, scallops, and oysters in the northern Channel Islands remains in place.
