By Michelle Gamage The Tyee Local Journalism Initiative Reporter When it’s feeding time, Vancouver Island University biology student Chloe McLaughlin carefully scoops a palm-sized green sea urchin out of a tank. Flipping it upside down, she exposes the creature’s mouth and gently feeds it a biotoxin that is highly poisonous to humans. The biotoxin, also known as paralytic shellfish poison, affects only creatures with central nervous systems, she says. Potentially lethal to humans, it doesn’t hurt sea urchins or other bivalve filter feeders such as oysters, clams, scallops, mussels and cockles. This experiment is part of a larger collaboration between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Vancouver Island University to improve testing for biotoxins in seafood and ultimately improve food security for remote and Indigenous communities along the coast, says…
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