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General Information

Event name: US-20-009
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
 Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
 Shellfish
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: 238-1047µg/100g)
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector):
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (Marine Biotoxin Program at the Washington State Department of Health, Office of Environmental and Health and Safety.)
Event occurred before in this location: No
Individuals to contact: BORCHERT, Jerry

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Coastline, Washington
HAB Area code(s): US-23
Additional location information: PSP events occurred during regular seasonal closures began in August, 2020. Razor clams reatined PSP from 2019, with maximum toxcity found in July 2020. PSP in razor clams was isolated to the north coast.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium catenella ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography:

Environmental Conditions

Weather: Turbidity (NTU): Wind direction:
Stratified water: Oxygen content (nL/L): Wind velocity:
Temperature (°C): Oxygen saturation %: Current Direction:
Sechhi disk (m): Salinity: Current Velocity:
Nutrient information:
Temperature Range During Event: Max: °C, Min: °C
Salinity Range During Event:
Bloom location in the water column:
Growth:
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information:

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
California mussels Saxitoxins 1047µg/100g Bioassay-Mouse
Razor clams Saxitoxins 238µg/100g Bioassay-Mouse
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information:
Economic losses: Recreational and commercial razor clam and dungeness crab harvests were interrupted, causing large economic losses to Washington's coastal communities.
Management decision: WADOH closed shellfish harvesting at impacted areas to protect public health.
Additional harmful effect information:
Created at 11:21 on 19 Apr 2021