BERRIES, mushrooms, and many edible plants can be found along the coast, along with clams, mussels, crabs, periwinkles, sea urchins, and even seaweed. Always be sure to identify your food, particularly mushrooms, before eating. COPYRIGHT 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING Never take shellfish from areas affected by red tide, which can led to paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans. PSP is caused by blooms of dinoflagelates, microscopic planktonic organisms, which can contain toxic compounds. Clams, mussels, oysters, and other filter-feeding shellfish can accumulate dangerously high concentrations of the toxin in their tissues in areas where these dinoflagellate have bloomed. Affected shellfish are not harmned by the toxin, and it doesn't change theirlook, taste, or smell. Cooking does not remove the toxin from the shellfish, and when ingested by humans, the toxin quickly affects the central nervous system. Symptoms generally appear within 30 minutes of ingestion. They can begin with tingling in the lips, face, neck and extremities and then progress to headache, dizziness, nausea, vertigo, muscular paralysis, and respiratory failure.
If you have any of these symptoms after eating shellfish, don't waste time in calling 911.The Maine coast is monitored for red tide. Before you pick mussels or dig for clams, call the Red Tide Hotline at 1-800-232-4733 to determine which areas are unsafe.Be aware that many coastal cottages are still “grandfathered” to allow “overboard” waste systems, which usually consist of little more than a long pipe to the water. If you see a pipe running from a cottage over the rocks and down to the sea, choose a different area to pick your mussels.