Lobster Supply Chains Are Not at Risk from Paralytic Shellfish Toxin Accumulation during Wet Storage.

Alison Turnbull,Quinn Fitzgibbon,Jessica Jolley,Graeme Knowles,Andreas Seger,Gustaaf Hallegraeff

doi:10.3390/toxins13020129

Alison Turnbull, Quinn Fitzgibbon + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020129

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Abstract

Lobster species can accumulate paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) in their hepatopancreas following the consumption of toxic prey. The Southern Rock Lobster (SRL), Jasus edwardsii, industry in Tasmania, Australia, and New Zealand, collectively valued at AUD 365 M, actively manages PST risk based on toxin monitoring of lobsters in coastal waters. The SRL supply chain predominantly provides live lobsters, which includes wet holding in fishing vessels, sea-cages, or processing facilities for periods of up to several months. Survival, quality, and safety of this largely exported high-value product is a major consideration for the industry. In a controlled experiment, SRL were exposed to highly toxic cultures of Alexandrium catenella at field relevant concentrations (2 × 105 cells L−1) in an experimental aquaculture facility over a period of 21 days. While significant PST accumulation in the lobster hepatopancreas has been reported in parallel experiments feeding lobsters with toxic mussels, no PST toxin accumulated in this experiment from exposure to toxic algal cells, and no negative impact on lobster health was observed as assessed via a wide range of behavioural, immunological, and physiological measures. We conclude that there is no risk of PST accumulation, nor risk to survival or quality at the point of consumption through exposure to toxic algal cells.

Highlights

The Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii Hutton) is sold in high value live export fisheries in Tasmania, Australia, and New Zealand worth AUD 97 M and AUD 268 M, respectively [1,2]
Lobsters from all treatment groups ate well during the experiment, with no significant difference in the specific feed intake (SFI) between treatment groups
Feed consumption decreased during the experiment, with SFI during weeks 2 and 3 being significantly less than that at week 1 (Figure 2; p value = 0.0009)

Summary

Introduction

The Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii Hutton) is sold in high value live export fisheries in Tasmania, Australia, and New Zealand worth AUD 97 M and AUD 268 M, respectively [1,2]. Lobsters are known to accumulate paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) during blooms of PST-producing algal species in Tasmanian and New Zealand coastal waters [3,4]. The toxins accumulate in the lobster hepatopancreas via the consumption of contaminated prey but are not found in the tail meat [7,8]. Whilst there is no Australian or New Zealand food standard for PST in lobster, several key export markets such as China and Hong Kong stipulate a maximum level of 0.8 mg saxitoxin (STX) equivalents kg−1.

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