Wild shellfish dangerous to eat off coast of Tasmania

Health authorities are warning people not to eat wild shellfish from the east coast of Tasmania due to the risk of potentially fatal paralytic poisoning.

Blooms of toxin-producing algae off the east coast, including in waters around Hobart, means there are high levels of toxins in the state's shellfish.

"Shellfish feed on algae and concentrate the toxin - this makes them dangerous to eat and may cause serious and even fatal illness," the state's acting director of public health, Dr Mark Veitch, said in a statement on Sunday.

- AAP