General Information

Event name: CA-92-001
Country: CANADA
Nature of the harmful event:
Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: > 80 µg STXeq / 100 g)
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 (Closures of shellfish harvesting areas due to unacceptable levels of PSP toxins are an annual occurrence in the Bay of Fundy.)
Individuals to contact: MARTIN, Jennifer

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Northwestern Bay of Fundy., Scotia Fundy
HAB Area code(s): CA-22
Additional location information:
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Event Date:1992-07-21
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information: Shellfish harvesting areas were closed at various locations in the Bay of Fundy between May and August.

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Alexandrium fundyense (20,080 cells/L)
July 21 at Deadmans Harbour.
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: 32 Current Velocity: 0
Nutrient information:
Temperature Range During Event: Max: 12 °C, Min: 6 °C
Salinity Range During Event:
Bloom location in the water column:
Growth: Advected
Growth Comments
Additional Environmental information: Water column mixed inshore and stratified offshore.

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
Shellfish tissues Saxitoxins STX eq > 80 LC
Kit used: Type of kit used:
Additional information: Unacceptable levels of PSP toxins were detected in shellfish tissues. Extractions were done at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Inspection Laboratory in Black's Harbour, New Brunswick, and HPLC analyses were carried out at the Inspection Branch laboratory in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Economic losses:
Management decision: Shellfish harvesting areas were closed to harvesting during the time when levels of PSP toxins greater than 80 µg/100 g in shellfish extracts. The Bay of Fundy is closed to harvesting of blue mussels throughout the year.
Additional harmful effect information:
Updated at 08:19 on 25 Sep 2013
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