NCCOS co-sponsored the Eighth Symposium on Harmful Algae in the United States,held this past November in Long Beach, California. The biennial event provides a forum for scientific exchange and technical communication on all aspects of harmful algal bloom (HAB) research in the U.S.

Credit and copyright©2007 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

NCCOS scientists, managers, and sponsored researchers led sessions on: bloom prediction, forecasting, and modeling; HAB monitoring and management; and human and animal health.

University of California Santa Cruz's Raphael Kudela led a special session on the 2015 West Coast domoic acid event that focused on the results of the NCCOS California HAB "hotspots" project.Dr. Kudela also gave a symposium opening plenary talk on the topic.

NCCOS also co-chaired a NOAA session for symposium attendees to receive information on the NOAA Ecological Forecasting Roadmap in relation to HAB forecasting, NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Forecasts, the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, and NCCOS's competitive HAB programs (ECOHAB, MERHAB, and PCMHAB).

The symposium was attended by representatives from federal, state, and local government; academia; and the private sector, and was held aboard the legendary Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary.

The Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary, berthed at Long Beach, California, served as the venue for the Eighth Symposium on Harmful Algae in the United States. Credit: The Queen Mary, Inc.

For more information, contact Quay.Dortch@noaa.gov or Marc.Suddleson@noaa.gov.