HOLIDAY, Fla. - The scallop season in Pasco County is temporarily on hold after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said unsafe levels of potentially harmful toxins were detected.

What we know:

According to the FWC, levels of saxitoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense tested higher than the safety thresholds established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

Saaxitoxin and Pyrodinium bahamense can cause a foodborne illness known as paralytic shellfish poisoning, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The Pasco Zone – which includes all state waters south of the Hernando -Pasco county line and north of the Anclote Key Lighthouse in northern Pinellas County – will remain closed for scallop harvesting until it is deemed safe to reopen.

The FWC says the a

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