Harmful Algal Information System: Event US-06-017

General Information

Event name:	US-06-017
Country:	UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:	Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:	Shellfish
Toxicity detected:	Yes
Associated syndrome:	PSP
Unexplained toxicity:	No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector):	Blue Mussels, Geoduck Clams, Manila Clams, Pacific Oysters
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 (Most of hte inlets of Central Puget Sound have had previous PSP closures)
Individuals to contact:	COX, Frank

Location & Date

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Location:	Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information:	Central Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest, Washington State HAB Area code(s): US-24
Additional location information:	Recreational closures: King County - Quartermaster Harbor closed on 6/15/06. All King Co. closed on 8/10/06. Kitsap County- East Bainbridge island closed on 6/9/06. Rich Pass, Yukon Harbor, Colvos Pass and Blake Island closed on 6/13/06. On 6/20/06, the rest of East Kitsap County on Central Puget Sound closed. Pierce County - Commencement Bay, Colvos Pass and the Tacoma Narrows, south to the bridge closed on 8/8/06. Snohomish Co.- Picnin Pt. South to King Co. line closed on 8/10/06
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:	Detection date: King Co. 6/7/06, Kitsap Co. 6/9/06, Pierce Co. - 8/8/06, Snohomish Co. 8/10/06 Final date: king co. 2/22/07, kitsap co. 2/22/07, pierce co. 11/3/06, snohomish co. 10/13/06. King Co.-Cashon Is. and Maury Is. Including Quartermaster harbor 6/7/06 -- 2/22/06. All King Co. 8/10/06--10/23/06. Kitsap County- Rich Pass, Yukon Harbor, Colvos Pass and Blake Is. 6/13/06--11/15/06, East Bainbridge 6/9/06--11/15/06, All East Kitsap Co, 6/20/06--2/22/06. Pierce County - Commencement Bay 8/8/06--11/3/06. Snohomish county - picnic pt. south to king co line 8/10/06--10/13/06. Geoduck tract closures- There were ten geoduck tracts with closures and two general area closures in central puget sound in 2006. Some like skiff point north had multiple closures. They are skiff point N - 2/9/06--2/23/06, 3/3/06--5/8/06, 7/3/06--5/7/07, port madison 8/7/06--11/22/06, 12/4/06--12/14/06 and 12/26/06--2/6/07. Apple cove pt. north - 12/8/06--still closed as of 6/23/07, Indianola east 7/31/06--2/12/07, murden cove - 8/7/06--12/12/06, Maury Island 9/28/06--1/5/07. Winter geoduck closures are not due to new blooms. they are the result of residual toxin from earlier blooms or resuspension of cysts by the divers who dig them with subsequent consumption of cysts by the clams. Dyes inlet closed to all commercial shellfish on 8/8/06 and opened on 12/5/06. Port madison closed on 8/8/07 and is still closed as of 6/23/07.

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:	Yes	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 - most toxic species	Saxitoxins		12,914 micrograms	Bioassay-Mouse

Kit used: No

Type of kit used:

Additional information:

12,914 micrograms were per 100 grams of shellfish tissue on 8/20/06 in Blue mussels at miller bay in kitsap county.

Economic losses:

Recreational and commercial shellfish harvest seasons were interrupted, causing an economic loss to the central puget sound washington communities.

Management decision:

DOH closed shellfish harvesting at impacted areas to protect public health.

Additional harmful effect information: