Saxitoxin

The ban is in response to the presence of saxitoxin, a marine biotoxin that accumulates in shellfish and can sicken people who eat shellfish affected by the toxin.

Residents are being warned by the county health department to avoid harvesting and eating shellfish and carnivorous gastropods in Terry Creek and Meetinghouse Creek in the Town of Riverhead until further notice.

Informed, wise and strong action is needed to reverse the trend of harmful algal blooms in Long Island waterways.

Though the lands remain uncertified for harvesting shellfish for human consumption due to chronic sanitary conditions, water quality in the Peconic River and western Flanders Bay has improved, according to Stony Brook University marine scientists.

In addition to hundreds of dead turtles, thousands of dead bunker and at least three sea birds on the shores of Flanders Bay worry environmental scientists.

The Suffolk County Health Department is warning residents against eating shellfish harvested from tributaries of the Peconic Estuary due to the presence of a marine biotoxin known to cause paralytic shellfish poisoning, a serious and potentially lethal illness in humans.

The bloated bodies of dozens of diamondback terrapins have been found scattered across the shores of several Jamesport and Flanders beaches since late April.