General Information

Event name: CA-98-001
Country: CANADA
Nature of the harmful event:
Water Discoloration , Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Humans
Toxicity detected: Yes
Associated syndrome: PSP
Unexplained toxicity: No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Clams.
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes
Event occurred before in this location: Yes (PSP toxicity has been measured by the mouse bioassay technique on a regular basis since 1961 in the St. Lawrence.)
Individuals to contact: LEVASSEUR, Maurice , SAUVÉ, Gilbert

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: South coast St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec Region
HAB Area code(s): CA-07
Additional location information: Along the south shore ca. 50 Km east and west of Ste. Flavie. 100 Km long by 1 Km wide.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Start: 1998-07-07, End: 1998-08-10
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium tamarense (2,000,000 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: 14 °C, Min: 12 °C
Salinity Range During Event: Max: 24, Min: 21
Bloom location in the water column:
Surface
Growth:
In situ
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information:

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: Most of the coastal zone was closed for shellfish harvesting and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in collaboration with the Canadian agency for Food Inspection, sent a warning to the media and advise people that the shellfish may be extremaly toxic
Additional harmful effect information:
Updated at 02:26 on 26 Sep 2013
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
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