Toxic Crab Outreach: Community Involvement in Crab Consumption Advisories
Presented by: Kerry Kirk Pflugh, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Last Spring, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued updated warnings on the dangers of eating blue claw crabs taken from the Newark Bay Complex. This was done in response to a new study that showed the dangers were greater than previously known. The new warnings were generated from a site-specific risk assessment using consumption information obtained from a survey of anglers in the region. In the 1980’s, research showed elevated levels of dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in five species of fish and the blue claw crab. Advisories were put in place to protect public health and a ban on the consumption of crabs was put into effect in 1994. These advisories are issued annually through the Fish and Wildlife Digest. However, studies demonstrated that anglers routinely ignored the warnings and continued to catch and eat crabs. As a result, the DEP has embarked on a comprehensive public education program by partnering with local organizations, including health departments, civic groups, community-based organizations and environmental groups. These groups serve as local liaisons to their community and develop and implement education programs within their communities using information provided by the DEP.
This presentation will discuss how these partnerships were developed, describe the support provided by the DEP and review outreach techniques employed to reach the communities at risk. It also will include examples of outreach materials, the results of a survey of crabbers taken following the initial release of the new warnings and a discussion of efforts to reach multilingual populations.