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General Information

Event name: US-05-026
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
 Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
 Shellfish
Toxicity detected: Yes
Associated syndrome: ASP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Razor Clams
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (WA. Dept. of Health, office of Shellfish and Water Protection, Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (WA coast has been impacted by ASP on a yearly cycle since 1991)
Individuals to contact: COX, Frank

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Washington Coastal Beaches and Coastal Estuar, Pacific Northwest
HAB Area code(s): US-23
Additional location information: Long Beach Peninsula, Twin Harbor Beach, Mocrocs Beach, Copalis Beach, Kalaloch Beach and Willapa Bay.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information: Dates: Kalaloch 10/3/04 to 4/5/05, Long Beach 4/25/05 to 10/15/05, Willapa Spits 5/06/05 to 7/09/05. Fall ASP bloom 2004 prevented the Jan., Feb. and March 2005 razor clam season at Kalaloch. Domoic acid level rise in razor clams at Long Beach in April prevented the May razor clam season from opening at Long Beach. Commercial razor clam season for the Willapa spits at the mouth of Willapa Bay did not open on schedule in May, 2005, and was delayed until July 9, 2005 due to domoic acid levels. Crab season was not affected by domoic acid in 2005.

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Pseudo-nitzschia sp. ( 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: 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
Razor Clams Domoic Acid 29ppm LC
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information: 29 ppm on 1/13/02 in razor clams at Kalaloch. 20 ppm on 4/25/05 in razor clams at Long Beach. 29ppm on 5/23/05 in razor clams at Willapa spits.
Economic losses: Recreational and commercial razor clam seasons were interrupted, causing an economic loss to the Washington coastal communities.
Management decision: DOH closed razor clam harvesting at impacted beaches to protect public health.
Additional harmful effect information: