PEOPLE are being warned not to eat oysters from The Fleet until a poisoning threat has passed.

Oyster fishing has been halted again after recent samples found toxins that may cause Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning. (DSP) The illness can cause diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and chills within 30 minutes to two hours of eating the shellfish.

A temporary ban has been placed on all bivalve mollusc fishing in the The Fleet, including mussels, clams, oysters, scallops and razor clams but does not affect crustaceans like crabs and lobsters, or gastropods like welks.

The toxins occur naturally and come from algae in the water of The Fleet.

Oysters and other bivalve molluscs take in nutrients from the water around them including tiny particles of algae. The toxins then build up in their flesh.

Fleet Oyster Farm owner and Owner of the Crab House Café, Nigel Bloxham, said that they would not be using oysters from their farm until they received the all clear.

He said: “We’re disappointed that the oysters won’t be on the menu over the Bank Holiday weekend, but it’s nature and you can’t stand in the way of nature.”

He added: “I’ve never known an algae bloom so late in the year.

“But we are not alone, the blooms are happening across the UK.”

Two consecutive samples must be found to be free from the DSP algal toxin before the oysters are deemed safe for people to eat again.

In February a temporary ban was placed on bivalve fishing for a month.

Notices warning fishermen of the potential risk have been put up along The Fleet.

For further information contact Weymouth Port Health Authority on 01305 838432.