OLYMPIA – State health officials warn that a type of biotoxin never before found in Washington shellfish has been detected in shellfish from the Sequim Bay area. The discovery led to a commercial and recreational harvest closure in Sequim Bay, and people are urged not to eat shellfish from that area until further notice due [...]
Two new research projects in Puget Sound to better understand and manage outbreaks of harmful algae that threaten public health and fisheries are being funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. The goal of one project is to develop forecasts of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella, based on the occurrence of seed-like cysts [...]
Sea lions are ordinarily playful mammals…but toxic blooms of algae are making these critters sick. Learn how NOAA and its partners are studying sea lions to better understand how algae can cause illness in other mammals, including humans. “Sea Lion Sickness” is just one of many exciting videos on The Ocean Today Kiosk. For full [...]
Better. Faster. Easier. And cheaper too. It might sound like the latest and greatest gizmo being hawked over late–night TV. But those are actual terms that end–users—read that as “customers”—apply to their experiences with a new testing method developed by National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science researchers for detecting and measuring domoic acid. The new [...]
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Mercury Science Inc. of Durham, N.C., are testing a new method to rapidly detect and accurately measure domoic acid, a harmful marine algal toxin that can cause serious illness and death in humans and marine mammals. “This new test gives marine resource managers and public health [...]
Researchers at Battelle Marine Science Laboratories, sponsored through the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Coastal Hypoxia Research Program, have found that hypoxia was more common in Puget Sound before and after Euroamerican settlement than during most of the 20th century, indicating non-anthropogenic origins. Elucidating the origins of Puget Sound hypoxia is critical for developing [...]
Scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) working with the Quileute Tribe, and the Quinault Indian Nation successfully field tested a new rapid detection method for harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxin in shellfish, April 26-27, 2006. This method accurately determines levels of contamination in shellfish, expediting decisions to harvest or not to harvest, that previously suffered [...]