General Information

Event name: GB-90-001
Country: UNITED KINGDOM
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):
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (Similar event in 1968 led to monitoring program, which revealed presence of dinoflagellate toxins in littoral mussels annually, but extent and levels varied greatly.)
Individuals to contact: BRESNAN, Eileen

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Coast from the Humber to the Tay., NORTH EAST ENGLAND AND EAST SCOTLAND
HAB Area code(s): GB-01 GB-23
Additional location information:
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information: Late May- mid July

Microalgae

Causative organism known: No
Causative Species/Genus:
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known: µg/l
Additional bloom information: Thought to be Gonyaulax excavata
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 No firm data available, but possibly in situ growth.
Additional Environmental information: No data available.

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
Kit used: Type of kit used:
Additional information:
Economic losses:
Management decision: 26th May: blanket ban on all shellfish from the Humber to the Tay. 1st June: ban lifted for lobsters and prawns. 5th July: ban lifted for everything except scallops. 16th July: ban fully lifted for NE England
Additional harmful effect information: High levels of PSP toxins found in mussels Mytilus edulis and also in crabs. Maximum level recorded was 19881 MU (3647 µg/100 g) in Mussels from Trow Rocks, South Shields.
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES