CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat the Internal Organs of Rock Crab from the Northern California Coast
December 12, 2025
SN25-030
What You Need to Know: CDPH is warning consumers not to eat internal organs of rock crab harvested from the California/Oregon border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line due to high levels of domoic acid.
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is warning consumers to not eat the internal organs (viscera) of rock crab caught along the coastal areas of Northern California.
This warning is in effect for state waters located from the California/Oregon border (42° 0.00' N. Latitude) south to the Sonoma/Mendocino County Line (38° 46.125' N. Latitude).
Recent domoic acid analysis results for Dungeness crab collected in the same areas where rock crab is located show concentrations exceeding safe levels for crab viscera, indicating a potential risk to public health. There have been no reported illnesses.
Consumers are advised to always discard the viscera and cooking liquids and adhere to the following preparation practices to avoid any inadvertent exposure to domoic acid that may be found. It is always best to remove the viscera and rinse the body cavity prior to cooking (i.e., boiling, steaming, or frying). If whole crab is cooked in liquid, domoic acid may leach into the broth. The cooking water or broth should be discarded and not used to prepare dishes such as sauces, broth, soups, or stews (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.
CDPH continues to coordinate its efforts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the fishing community to collect and test crab samples from the impacted areas until domoic acid levels have dissipated.
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.