Last summer, after a number of people got sick from eating locally caught anchovies, the coastal city of San Martin advised against eating such anchovies  The anchovies were apparently tainted with domoic acid, a harmful neurotoxin  However, a dramatic drop in the population of P
australis plankton to numbers more normal for local coastal waters indicates that it is once again safe to eat locally caught anchovies
A sharp decline in the population of P. australis is typically mirrored by a corresponding drop in the local anchovy population.