CDPH Lifts Warning About Consuming the Internal Organs of Sport-Harvested Dungeness Crab from One Area of the Northern California Coast
November 20, 2025
SN25-028
What You Need to Know: CDPH has lifted the shellfish safety notification for warning people not to consume internal organs (viscera) of Dungeness crab from one area of the Northern California coast. Levels of domoic acid in Dungeness crab harvested from this area have declined to low or undetectable levels.
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has lifted the shellfish safety notification for sport-harvested Dungeness crab internal organs (viscera) caught in state waters located at:
- Sonoma/Mendocino County line (38° 46.125' N. Latitude) to Point Reyes (37⁰ 59.73' N. Latitude)
CDPH has lifted its Dungeness Crab Internal Organs Advisory dated
October 24, 2025, where consumers were warned against eating Dungeness crab viscera. Recent laboratory analyses show that the domoic acid levels in Dungeness crab harvested along the coastal area of Northern California have declined to low or undetectable levels. There have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.
Consumers are advised to always discard the viscera and cooking liquids and adhere to the following best preparation practices to avoid any inadvertent exposure to domoic acid that may be sporadically found in the crab’s viscera. It is always best to remove the viscera and rinse out the body cavity prior to cooking (i.e., before boiling, steaming, or frying). If whole crab is cooked in liquid, domoic acid may leach into the cooking liquid. The cooking water or broth should be discarded and not used to prepare dishes such as sauces, broth, soups, or stews (for example, cioppino or gumbo), stocks, roux, dressings, or dips.
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.