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CDPH Lifts Warning About Consuming Internal Organs of Sport-Harvested Dungeness Crab from One Area Along Northern California Coast

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CDPH Lifts Warning About Consuming Internal Organs of Sport-Harvested Dungeness Crab from One Area Along Northern California Coast

January 2, 2026

SN26-002

What You Need to Know: CDPH has removed the warning that advised against eating sport-harvested Dungeness crab caught in one area along the Northern California Coast. Recent testing shows domoic acid levels have decreased to low or undetectable levels in the internal organs of Dungeness crab caught in this area.

SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has lifted the shellfish safety notification to not consume the internal organs of any sport-harvested Dungeness Crab caught in state waters located at:

CA/OR border (42⁰ 0.00' N. Latitude) to Reading Rock State Marine Reserve (41° 17.6' N. Latitude)

Laboratory analyses show that domoic acid levels in the internal organs of Dungeness crab harvested along one of the coastal areas of northern California have declined to low or undetectable levels. CDPH has updated its Whole Dungeness Crab Advisory dated December 12, 2025, where the public was warned to not consume any parts of sport-harvested whole Dungeness crab. Currently, there are no warnings for domoic acid in Dungeness crab viscera from the above area, and there have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.

Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the consumer may experience trouble breathing, confusion, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma, or death.

Test results are updated as laboratory results become available and can be viewed on the CDPH Domoic Acid webpage. Please visit CDPH’s Domoic Acid FAQ for more information. To receive updated information about shellfish poisoning and quarantines, call CDPH’s toll-free “Shellfish Information Line” at (800) 553-4133.