If you’re thinking about gathering mussels along California’s coast, here’s an important heads-up: a statewide mussel quarantine is now in effect and will remain in place through Oct. 31.
The California Department of Public Health has issued the warning, urging recreational sport harvesters not to eat mussels collected from the ocean shore.
This includes all coastal areas from the Oregon border to the Mexican border, and yes, that includes every bay, inlet, and harbor in Los Angeles County.
The reason? Mussels collected during warmer months can contain dangerous, naturally occurring toxins, like paralytic shellfish poison and domoic acid, that are harmful, even deadly, to humans…