The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is in the process of recalling mussels harvested from Frenchman Bay due to elevated levels of domoic acid, the biotoxin that causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP). The recall follows a closure implemented yesterday of the area between East Point on MDI and Cranberry Point in Gouldsboro to the harvest of mussels, clams, oysters and whelks (carnivorous snails).

 In mammals, including humans, domoic acid acts as a neurotoxin, causing permanent short-term memory loss, brain damage, and death in severe cases.