Marine resources have long been essential for the nutritional, cultural, and economic well-being of Alaska’s coastal communities. Recently, NCCOS-funded studies have demonstrated that warming Arctic waters are exacerbating harmful algal blooms (HABs) and increasing the potential for exposure to their toxins, underscoring the need for ongoing and enhanced monitoring to protect marine resources and public health. NCCOS scientists recently traveled to Nome, Alaska to conduct specialized training workshops to transfer critical methodologies for monitoring HABs to the Nome Eskimo Community (NEC).
The hands-on training focused on equipping 24 NEC environmental staff and community monitors with the skills to identify HAB species and use screening toolkits to detect the phytoplankton causing human intoxications in the Arctic region. Over the course of four days, the workshop attendees received an introduction to what HABs are, where they are found, and how to identify the “big three” species: Alexandrium, Dinophysis, and Pseudo-nitzchia. Workshop participants were taught how to use microscopes, to take photos of algal samples, and how to submit data back to NCCOS for both identification confirmations and inclusion in the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network database.
This capacity-building effort directly supports the NEC’s initiative to establish a robust, localized monitoring program for subsistence-harvested marine resources, such as clams, crabs, and marine mammals, which are vital to the food security and cultural heritage of the region. In addition to these training workshops, NEC plans to build a toxin detection lab in 2027. Future NCCOS-supported technology transfer workshops for toxin detection methods will be held prior to the completion of the NEC analytical lab.
Since 2013, NCCOS has supported Alaska Natives in building a monitoring network for algal toxins in their subsistence, traditional, and recreational shellfish harvests. In addition to these technology transfer workshops, NEC is also part of the NCCOS Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program project team working to identify specific marine food resources of concern and determine the extent to which food safety and security may be impacted by HAB toxins in Arctic/subarctic coastal communities.
By empowering the community with these monitoring and detection tools, this new partnership enhances local climate resilience, helps to provide early warnings of toxic bloom events, and safeguards public health against emerging high-latitude HAB threats in the Bering Strait Arctic region. These workshops were hosted in partnership with the Ocean and Earth Environmental Consultants, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Alaska Ocean Observing System, and Alaska Sea Grant.
