Harmful Algal Blooms & Marine Biotoxins

Some algae naturally produce toxins (e.g. saxitoxins, responsible for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning) that filter-feeding shellfish concentrate in their tissue during a harmful algal bloom. Symptoms of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning are neurological, can begin within 10 minutes to 3 hours of eating contaminated shellfish, and in severe cases can progress to respiratory arrest — a genuinely serious, fast-moving hazard, not a mild stomach upset.

This project did not find documented evidence of a major historical Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning outbreak specifically tied to Hampton Roads/Virginia waters during this research pass — presented honestly as an absence of found evidence, not a claim that Virginia waters are immune to marine biotoxins generally.

Marine biotoxins are heat-stable — normal cooking temperatures do not reliably destroy them. This is a fundamentally different hazard from bacterial contamination (which cooking does meaningfully reduce) and is exactly why official area-closure status, not appearance or smell, is the only real protection.