1799 — July, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, Aleuts, Russians, Peril Strait, AK — ~100
–150-200 AP (Dean Gottehrer, Ed.). Stylebook for Alaska (2nd Edition), 1990, p. 84.[1]
— >100 Barefield. Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Toxic Algae (webpage). 1-10-2016.
— >100 Bingham. “Paralytic shellfish poisoning…warning…Southeast Alaska.” 6-24-2010.
— 100 Higginson. Alaska, the Great Country, 1910, p. 150.
— ~100 Trainer (Nat. Marine Fisheries Service). Harmful algal blooms on the U.S. west coast.
— >100 U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. “Harmful algal blooms…” Accessed 8-25-2017.
Narrative Information
AP/Gottehrer: “July 1799. At least 115 Aleuts, possibly as many as 200, died after eating poisonous mussels at Peril Strait, north of Sitka.” (AP (Dean Gottehrer, Ed.). Stylebook for Alaska (2nd Edition), p. 84.)
Barefield: “The worst historical account of PSP poisoning occurred in Southeast Alaska in July 1799 when more than 100 Russians and Aleuts died from eating clams and mussels gathered from Peril Straits near Sitka. The most recent cases occurred last summer [2015] when two people died in Southeast Alaska, one from eating a cockle and the other from eating a Dungeness crab, and three people became ill in Kodiak from eating butter clams. Cockles tested in Southeast Alaska last summer had a level of PSP that was 2,044 parts per million. Anything over 80 parts per million is considered unsafe for human consumption. PSP also kills sea otters, and it probably is toxic to other mammals.” (Barefield. Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Toxic Algae (webpage). 1-10-2016.)
Bingham: “There have been periodic outbreaks of PSP over the years, with the most deadly instance coming when clams and mussels gathered from Peril Straits near Sitka killed more than 100 Russians and Aleuts in 1799.”
Higginson: “Peril Strait is a dangerous reach leading in sweeping curves from Chatham Strait to Salisbury Sound. It is the watery dividing line between Chichagoff and Baranoff islands. It has two narrows, where the rapids at certain stages of the tides are most dangerous….There are several islands in Peril Strait….Between Otstoi and Pouverstoi islands is Deadman’s Reach. Here are Peril Point and Poison Cove, where Baranoff lost a hundred Aleuts by their eating of poisonous mussels in 1799. For this reason the Russians gave it the name, Pogibshi, which, interpreted, means ‘Destruction,’ instead of the ‘Pernicious’ or ‘Peril’ of the present time.” (Higginson. Alaska, the Great Country, 1910, p. 150.)
Kwong: “Of all the traditional seafoods in Southeast Alaska, none are more shrouded in myth — and genuine risk — than clams and mussels. Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) killed two people in Southeast in 2010 and dozens more have fallen ill over the recorded history of the state….
“In Southeast, between Chicagof and Baranof Islands, there’s a waterway called Peril Strait. The name doesn’t come from winds ripping through the channel, but from a shocking event that happened in 1799. ‘A Russian ship came in and the villagers had gone out and collected a bunch of clams from an area now called Poison Cove,’ explained Jeff Feldpausch, the Resource Protection Director for Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
“The incident he’s describing is the earliest documented case of PSP in the state. After eating the shellfish, 100 Aleut crew members of fur trader Alexander Baranof – died. Feldpausch added, ‘They only made it a few miles to the area that’s now called Dead Man’s Reach.’….” (Kwong, Emily (KCAW, Sitka, AK). “PSP Part 1: Tribal partnership seeks modern solution to an ancient problem,” 3-24-2015.
Trainer: “The earliest recorded PSP event on the U.S. west coast occurred in 1799, and was documented by Aleksander Baranov, the chief manager of the Russian-American trading company. A party of Aleut hunters under his command paddled to a place called Khutznov Strait, later to be called Peril Strait, where the Natives collected and ate some small, black mussels that were abundant in the area. Two minutes later about half the party experienced nausea and dryness of the throat. Two hours later, about a hundred Aleut Indian hunters had died. Some survived by eating a mixture of gunpowder, tobacco, and spirits to induce vomiting.” (Trainer. Harmful algal blooms on the U.S. west coast. Seattle, WA: NMSS, NOAA, 2002, p. 1.)
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit: “Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have long been a threat in southeast Alaska: the first human deaths attributed to a HAB occurred near Sitka, Alaska in 1799, when an outbreak of paralytic shellfish poisoning killed over a hundred members of Alexander Baranof’s crew.[2] An HAB event occurs when nutrients and sunlight are just right and plankton species respond by multiplying especially rapidly. Submarine filter feeders such as clams, cockles, and scallops that take in the plankton can become contaminated with natural, algal-derived toxins. When people eat these shellfish, the toxins can lead to sickness, brain damage, and death.” (U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. “Harmful algal blooms — exacerbated by warming ocean temperatures.” (Website). Accessed 8-25-2017.)
Sources
Associated Press (Dean Gottehrer, Ed.). Stylebook for Alaska (2nd Edition, Revised and Updated). Fairbanks, AK: Epicenter Press, 1990.
Barefield. Robin. Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Toxic Algae (webpage). 1-10-2016. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: http://robinbarefield.com/tag/paralytic-shellfish-poisoning/
Bingham, Charles. “Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) warning issued for Southeast Alaska.” Sitka Local Foods Network, 6-24-2010. (Citing Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) website.) Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/2010/06/24/%E2%80%A2-paralytic-shellfish-poisoning-psp-warning-issued-for-southeast-alaska/
Higginson, Ella. Alaska, the Great Country. NY: Macmillan Co., 1910. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=EQeLinhUr5AC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kwong, Emily (KCAW, Sitka, AK). “PSP Part 1: Tribal partnership seeks modern solution to an ancient problem,” 3-24-2015. Accessed 8-25-1017 at: https://www.kcaw.org/2015/03/24/psp-tribal-partnership-seeks-modern-solution-to-an-ancient-problem/
Trainer, Vera L. Harmful algal blooms on the U.S. west coast. Seattle, WA: National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, 2002, 29 pages. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: Harmful algal blooms on the U.S. west coast
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. “Harmful algal blooms — exacerbated by warming ocean temperatures.” (Website). Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-studies/alaskan-tribes-join-together-assess-harmful-algal-blooms
Wikipedia. Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. 5-28-2017 edit. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Andreyevich_Baranov
[1] Blanchard note: Though this source notes 150-200 deaths, every other source we have consulted notes about 100.
[2] Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, Russian trader and merchant. “In 1799 Baranov was promoted, appointed by the recently chartered Russian-American Company as Chief Manager, effectively the first governor of Russian America.” (Wikipedia. Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. 5-28-2017 edit.)