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General Information

Event name: US-14-004
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
 Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
 Shellfish
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: In Whatcom County, 183 micrograms of PSP toxin was the maximum in blue mussels at Bellingham Bay on 9/22/14. In San Juan County, blue mussels reached a maximum of 549 micrograms PSP toxin in Rosario Strait on 9/16/14. In Clallam County, butter clams reached 268 micrograms of PSP toxin on 3/20/14 at the West Straits. In Clallam County, pacific oysters reached 41 micrograms of DSP toxins on 7/22/13, a new record for this species in WA. Also in Clallam County, blue mussels reached 180 micrograms of DSP toxin at Sequim Bay in August. In Whatcom County, blue mussels reached 81 micrograms of DSP toxin at Bellingham Bay in July. In San Juan County, blue mussels from Rosario Point reached 27 micrograms of DSP toxin in August.)
Associated syndrome: ASP , DSP
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: Yes (PSP closures have occurred throughout North Puget Sound previously. In 2014 a new record for DSP toxins was recorded in pacific oysters and littleneck clams.)
Individuals to contact: BORCHERT, Jerry , HARD, Clara

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Washington State, North Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest
HAB Area code(s): US-24
Additional location information: Whatcom, Jefferson, and San Juan counties
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: No
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium catenella ( cells/L)
PSP
Pseudo-nitzschia spp. ( cells/L)
ASP
Dinophysis sp. ( cells/L)
DSP
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
Blue Mussels Saxitoxins 183µg Bioassay-Mouse
Blue Mussels Saxitoxins 549µg Bioassay-Mouse
Butter Clams Saxitoxins 268µg Bioassay-Mouse
blue mussels Okadaic Acid 27µg LC-MS
blue mussels Okadaic Acid 81µg LC-MS
Pacific Oysters Okadaic Acid 41µg LC-MS
Manila Clams Okadaic Acid 31mg LC-MS
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information:
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:
Created at 09:50 on 7 Feb 2017
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES