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Pacific Coast Harmful Algal Blooms
program
Highlights
The harmful algae, Alexandrium and Pseudo-nitzschia, occur along the Pacific coast and produce potent toxins that accumulate in shellfish and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), respectively, in humans. Other types of HABs in the region, while not harmful to humans, can cause fish kills or harm the environment through excessive growth.
In the Pacific coast region, NOAA has supported multi-year, interdisciplinary research studies to address the issues of HABs in an ecosystemcontext. Working closely with Federal, State, and academic partners, NOAA has:
1) Investigated the factors that regulate the dynamics of HABs and how they cause harm
2) applied remote sensing and in situ detection technology (e.g., using satellite imagery and ocean observing systems, respectively)
3) developed molecular methods and biochemical analyses for the detection and tracking of algal species and their toxins and linked bio-physical models that form a critical base for building ecological forecasts.
Through these efforts NOAA has made considerable progress in the ability to detect, monitor, assess, and in some cases, predict HAB events. For example, the Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom (ORHAB) program, developed through MERHAB support, has allowed Washington to anticipate the need to initiate closures of recreational and commercial shellfish harvests to protect humans from ASP and to retain the public trust critical to enforce current and future closures.