Monitoring and Event Response for
Harmful Algal Blooms
The Monitoring and Event Response for Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) Research Program builds capacity along our coasts for enhanced harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring and response. This helps the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and state partners identify when beaches, shellfisheries, and marine animals are at risk from harmful algae, and to make informed decisions that protect public health and safeguard our coastal economies.
Program Details
MERHAB funds the highest quality research projects that help NOAA and our partners enhance monitoring programs to keep pace with increasing management challenges posed by harmful algal blooms around the country. MERHAB investments provide access to evaluate proven detection technologies and assess the benefits of incorporating them into existing monitoring programs. MERHAB also supports research to support
NOAA’s national HAB observing and forecasting services.
MERHAB is authorized by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) 33 U.S.C. §§ 4001 et seq.
Program Priorities
Adopting faster, less expensive, and more reliable detection methods for HAB cells and toxins in routine monitoring programs.
Adopting instrumentation for low-cost, long-term observations of conditions that influence HAB dynamics.
Improving monitoring strategies and forecast models to enhance early warning capability, foster improved response to HAB events, and demonstrate operational capabilities.
Enhancing response capabilities to ensure trained and equipped personnel are able to mobilize quickly, conduct appropriate sampling and testing, and communicate effectively during HAB events.
Funding Announcement
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcements for MERHAB and other national competitive HAB programs are available on the NCCOS Funding Opportunities page.
Check back for available funding.
Funding Details
Contact the NCCOS for details. – Hide when not available
Current Funded Projects
- Advancing an Integrated HAB Detection and Monitoring System Across the San Francisco Estuary (2023)
- Developing a Chesapeake Bay HAB Monitoring and Forecast System for Margalefidinium and Alexandrium Blooms (2023)
- Developing an Operational Sargassum HAB Monitoring and Forecasting System for the Southeastern U.S. and U.S. Caribbean (2023)
- Early Warning for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning in the Gulf of Maine through Real Time in situ Characterization of Upstream Phytoplankton Blooms (2023)
- Employing a Novel Molecular Toolbox for Rapid, Sensitive Detection of Toxic Pseudo-nitzschia Species (2023)
- Expansion of Anatoxin-a Monitoring Methods for Harmful Algal Blooms to Include New and Additional Congeners (2023)
- HABs in the Kodiak Archipelago: HAB Monitoring and Toxin Testing to Support Community Subsistence Harvesting and Forecast Model Development (2023)
Past Projects
View HAB event responses since 2015 that received funding support from the HABER Program; responses organized by funding recipient in each region and state.
- Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom – Sitka Tribe of Alaska ($12,950)
- Responding to Multispecies Mortality Event Occurring in Norton Sound Region ($15,000)
- Testing Tribal Shellfish for Toxin in Southwest Alaska ($48,507)
- Collecting Real-Time Harmful Algal Bloom Data in Alaska ($29,923)
- Communicating Harmful Algal Bloom Risk to Communities in the Bering Strait Region ($15,000)
- Investigating Unusual Marine Animal Mortalities and Possible Harmful Algal Bloom around Kachemak Bay ($5,000)
- Responding to Multispecies Mortality Event in St. George Island, Alaska ($5,344)
- Sampling Harmful Algal Bloom In Kachemak Bay ($19,800)
Ohio
Massachusetts
New York
- Investigating Diamondback Terrapin Die-Offs ($5,400)
- Responding to Ongoing Harmful Algal Blooms in Long Island ($19,000)
Virginia
Florida
- Assessing Martin County Threat of Blue-green Algal Toxin ($9,273)
- Monitoring Brown Tide in Indian River Lagoon ($7,096)
- Studying Airborne Health Risks from Cyanobacteria Blooms ($5,000)
- Investigating Unusual Fish Behavior in the Florida Keys ($25,000)
Puerto Rico
- Supporting Sargassum Response ($38,467)
Alabama
Florida
- Responding to Red Tide ($19,200)
- Examining Sea Turtle Mortalities and Dietary Exposure to Red Tide Toxins ($10,045)
- Testing Treatment for Birds Sickened by Red Tide ($8,250)
- Sampling Ongoing Red Tide to Determine Impacts ($28,000)
- Quantifying Toxin Accumulation in Seabirds and Prey Fish ($7,820)
Louisiana
- Responding to Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Pontchartrain Caused by Opening Bonnet Carre Spillway ($12,907)
Texas
California
- Responding to Southern California Harmful Algal Bloom Event ($14,250)
- Investigating Bioluminescent Red Tide Event Off Southern California Coast ($17,950)
- Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom in the San Francisco Bay ($15,420)
- Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom Following Marine Mammal Strandings in Southern California ($12,550)
- Responding to Marine Mammal Mortality Event Occurring in Southern California ($4,520)
Washington
Additional Resources
For more information:
- Contact Marc Suddleson, MERHAB Manager
- MERHAB Project Archives
- MERHAB Program One-Pager
For additional HAB Competitive Research Programs, visit