Nearly all beaches from northern King and Kitsap counties to Johnson's Point in Thurston County are closed to shellfishing, according to Ned Therien of the state Department of Health's Office of Food Safety and Shellfish Programs. As of Friday afternoon, the only areas still safe for shellfishing were Case Inlet and Hood Canal.
Red tide is the common name for a marine biotoxin called paralytic shellfish poison.
It is a single-cell plankton that can multiply and turn the water red, Therien said. Sometimes a high concentration of the biotoxin occurs without discoloring the water, he said. Beaches are still open for swimming, fishing and crabbing, unless posted signs indicate the area is closed for other reasons. The toxin does not make fish and crabs unsafe for consumption, Therien said, but clams, oysters, mussels and scallops absorb it and become contaminated with high concentrations of the toxin. People should not eat any shellfish from closed areas.