MUSSELS: HOW TO FORAGE OR FARM THEM

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The saxitoxin that the microscopic organisms create is a powerful paralyzer for which there's no antidote. If you take in enough, you'll go numb all over and stop breathing, sometimes within half an hour.

Other than the lab tests which health departments routinely make, there's no easy way to know when your area's shellfish might be affected by a red tide. (Some people think that the "glow" that sometimes appears in sea water — also caused by micro-organisms, and called "bioluminescence" — is a sure signal of danger . . . but some luminescent plankton is nontoxic, and some toxic plankton is nonluminescent. )

Nor can you you lessen the poisonous effects through any method of cooking or pickling. And don't count on a small "taste test" to warn you, because — during heavy plankton blooms a single, three-inch mussel could be deadly. Play it safe and check with the health department before you gather!

(A mild case of shellfish poisoning begins with numbness and tingling around the lips and tongue and moves to the face and neck. There may also be a "prickly" feeling in the toes and fingertips as well as some dizziness, headache, and nausea. If the problem is more severe, the speech will become incoherent . . . the limbs prickly, stiff, and uncoordinated. There may be a rapid pulse and some problem in breathing. Extreme saxitoxin ingestion is characterized by great breathing difficulty, muscular paralysis, and choking. If you experience any of these symptoms after eating any shellfish, have someone take you to the hospital right away.)

FORAGE A FEAST

Once you've checked and found that your waters have been declared safe for shellfish foraging, get whatever license might be required (the local Fish and Game Commission office can give you all the necessary information). Then — equipped with a sharpened tire iron or heavy-bladed knife and a gunnysack or other container — you can set out, at low tide, on your search.

Mussels are tastiest when they're from two to three inches long. As you gather them, make sure the shells are closed tightly — or that they snap shut when you grab the creatures — and don't collect any mollusks that are full of sand. (To avoid taking more than you can use, keep in mind that two dozen mussels per person will constitute a hefty meal! )

Back at home, your harvest should be scrubbed clean and the "beard" ( the byssus threads that mussels spin to attach themselves to inanimate objects and to one another) should be pulled out or clipped off just prior to cooking. (They can be left on as "handles" if you plan to eat the mussels right out of the shell.)

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