The culmination of unusual weather patterns this winter has resulted in thousands of washed up mussels on numerous False Bay beaches.

Glencairn, Fish Hoek, Muizenberg and the stretch of coastline along Baden Powell Drive have all seen large numbers of stranded shellfish over the past two weeks. Although this may be music to the ears of seafood lovers, the city has warned residents against consuming the mussels due to the varying stages of rot they are in.

‘In spite of this being a natural phenomenon, I would much rather err on the side of caution and advise the public to not collect and consume the marine animals. Some of the mussels have started rotting, so that is a potential risk. In addition, given that shellfish are filter feeders, they are known to be the cause of food poisoning incidents – especially under the current circumstances where they have been lying on the shore for some time. We have also been told by DAFF that a red tide has persisted along the False Bay coast for much of June, although the extent of the toxicity is not known. In my book, these are more than enough reasons to steer clear of eating the shellfish in question,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Health, Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli.

Read more here.

Photography @mrsngood

 

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