JONESPORT – Contaminated shellfish is being blamed for Tuesday’s hospitalization of four members of a fishing family in Washington County.

Lobsterman Randy Beal and his wife Brenda from Harrington were in critical condition Wednesday evening at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, a nursing supervisor said.

It’s Maine’s first documented case of human red tide poisoning in at least 30 years and the first incidence in New England since 1990, according to state officials.

According to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the family suffered paralytic shellfish poisoning Tuesday night after eating a batch of mussels.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning, also known as red tide, is an ocean biotoxin found in certain types of algae. Shellfish consume the algae and become contaminated. High levels of the toxin can cause serious illness or even death if consumed by humans.

A third unnamed family member is in fair condition at EMMC and the fourth, also unnamed, was in fair condition at Down East Community Hospital in Machias, according to Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control.

“We have been working very closely to assure the safety of the family but also the safety of shellfish in Maine,” Mills said Wednesday afternoon by telephone. “Every indication is that this is an isolated incident.”

The family of four apparently became sick within minutes of eating mussels sometime Tuesday evening.

“The story from last night that has been reconfirmed is that this lobsterman found a barrel with mussels stuck on the outside, floating in ocean waters off the coast of Washington County,” Mills explained. “He then brought them home for personal consumption. These never entered the commercial industry.”

The press statement lists the symptoms of red tide poisoning as tingling of the face and neck, headaches, nausea and muscle weakness. They usually occur within two hours of consumption. Extreme cases can lead to respiratory failure, which was the case for the two family members who were listed in critical condition, Mills said.

There is no antidote for red tide poisoning. The body typically rids itself of the toxins within anywhere from a few hours to a few days, Maine’s top health official said.

While the family members remained at the hospital Wednesday, officials from the Maine Department of Marine Resources spent most of the day in the Jonesport area testing for red tide.

“One thing that’s worth mentioning is that the samples, which were tested at our lab in Lamoine, came back clean,” DMR Commissioner George Lapointe said Wednesday afternoon. “The Jonesport area will remain open for the time being but obviously there will be further testing.”

Lapointe said the mussels may have become contaminated if the barrel floated through waters that had high concentrations of red tide.

Maine’s Department of Marine Resources monitors shellfish beds if levels of red tide are found to be high, a practice that often involves closures of specific areas.

Current areas that are closed include the town of Cutler in Washington County, extending to the Canadian border, areas around Isle au Haut and Frenchboro and coastal waters near Biddeford.

Mills said the Maine Center for Disease Control has issued a health alert regarding red tide to health care providers in Maine as a precaution.

“The bottom line for consumers is to enjoy Maine’s shellfish, but buy from an established retailer,” Mills said. “If you buy from a certified dealer, then that’s part of the monitoring program.”

She also warned that marine toxins are a global issue.

“The type of toxin we see here is primarily red tide, but wherever you go in the world, you should not eat shellfish unless you know its source.”

The last case of paralytic shellfish poisoning in New England occurred in Massachusetts in 1991, when a fisherman ate tainted mussels that he pulled up in his nets while fishing in an area that was closed to shellfish harvesting, Mills said.

Shellfish that can be contaminated include mussels, oysters and clams, according to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Web site.

Lobsters and crabs are safe to eat during red tide outbreaks. Unlike mussels and clams, which filter their food from sea water that may contain toxins, lobsters and crabs are meat eaters and are not contaminated by red tide.

More information regarding red tide is available by visiting www.mainepublichealth.gov.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.