Malborough shellfish ban lifted

A commercial shellfish harvesting ban at Port Underwood Marlborough has been revoked due to biotoxin levels in the area returning to allowable limits.

  The ban had been in place for over three weeks as levels of biotoxins that cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) were found to be above allowable limits in three sites. At its peak the levels of DSP were 40 micrograms per 100gms of shellfish over twice the allowable limit. The ban was lifted on Saturday after concentrations had dropped to almost zero.

 Around 35 mussel farms out of the areas 1800 were affected and senior health protection officer Ali Cambell stated there had been negliable effect on the industry  “it was only a small blip”.

 He suspected the problem was due to a localised algae bloom. Cooking the shellfish did not remove the bloom so therefore they were unsafe to eat.  Common DSP symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting usually occurring within 24 hours of eating contaminated shellfish.