General Information

Event name: US-02-021
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: 1,422 µg STXeq /100 g.)
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Mussels, Geoduck Clams, Manila Clams, Pacific Oysters
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (WA Dept. of Health, office of Food Safety & Shellfish Programs, Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (Most of the inlets of North Puget Sound have had previous PSP closures.)
Individuals to contact: COX, Frank

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatc, Washington.
HAB Area code(s): US-24
Additional location information: Pacific Northwest, North Puget Sound Areas.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Start: 2002-05-29, End: 2002-12-31
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information: First recreational shellfish closures began in May, 2002 and ended by July 31, 2002. The second bloom closed commercial and recreational areas on October 8, 2002. The Commercial closures were lifted in November, while some recreational closures continued for all species or for Butter clam only closures into the new year.

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: No Oxygen content (nL/L): Wind velocity:
Temperature (°C): Oxygen saturation %: Current Direction:
Sechhi disk (m): Salinity: Current Velocity: 0
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
Blue mussels (10/02/02) Saxitoxins STX eq 1,422 Bioassay-Mouse
Geoduck, Manila Clams, Pacific Oysters Saxitoxins STX eq Bioassay-Mouse
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information: Blue Mussels were the most toxic specie.
Economic losses: Recreational and commercial shellfish harvest seasons were interrupted, causing an economic loss to the North Puget Sound Washington communities.
Management decision: DOH closed shellfish harvesting at impacted areas to protect public health.
Additional harmful effect information:
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES