General Information

Event name: US-24-018
Country: UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:
Seafood toxins , Mass mortalities
Event directly affected:
Natural Fish , Birds , Shellfish , Aquatic Mammals
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: Dungeness crab viscera 8.1 ppm)
Associated syndrome: ASP
Unexplained toxicity:
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector): Clinical signs consistent with ASP toxicity syndrome observed in marine mammals was attributed to consumption of prey species (e.g., anchovy, sardine, market squid) containing domoic acid.
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme: Yes (California Department of Public Health - Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program)
Event occurred before in this location: Yes
Individuals to contact: ZUBKOUSKY-WHITE, Vanessa , MURPHY, Shannon

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: ,
HAB Area code(s): US-20
Additional location information: ASP-related illnesses observed in 251 stranded marine mammals (236 California sea lions,12 Northern fur seals, and 3 common dolphins) across the 2 counties listed. Strandings were reported in every month of 2024 except March and Dec in 1 or both counties
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Pseudo-nitzschia spp. ( 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:
Nutrient information:
Temperature Range During Event: Max: °C, Min: °C
Salinity Range During Event:
Bloom location in the water column: Whole column
Growth:
In situ
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information:

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
California Mussels Domoic Acid 31 ppm LC-MS
Dungeness Crab Viscera Domoic Acid 8.1 ppm LC-MS
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information: domoic acid detected (< 30 ppm) October
Economic losses: Brief harvesting closure in Oct.
Management decision: Marine Mammal stranding events were responded to by the marine mammal care and stranding network of California. The California Interagency HAB-related Illness Workgroup tracks HAB-related illnesses and reported these stranding events to OHHABS
Additional harmful effect information:
Created at 09:48 on 10 Apr 2025
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES


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