China bans imported shellfish from West Coast
China has banned imports of geoducks from the West Coast.
SEATTLE- Washington geoduck harvesters and farmers are working with politicians to overturn China's ban on imported shellfish from the West Coast.
According to The Seattle Times, Chinese inspectors notified the U.S. Embassy on Dec. 3 that they were suspending imports of geoduck and other bi-valve mollusks because of high levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning and inorganic arsenic found in a November shipment of geoducks.
This is a potentially big blow to the geoduck industry, based primarily in the Puget Sound. Washington harvests an estimated 5 million pounds of geoducks annually, with 90% of the state's geoducks sent to China.
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