General Information

Event name: PT-96-019
Country: PORTUGAL
Nature of the harmful event:
Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected: Yes (Approximate range: 431 µg STX eq / 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 (Since 1986, with a break in 1991, G. Catenatum has been the responsible species for PSP at the Portuguese coastal zone. In 1999 and 1994, all the coast was affected, beguinning in the South and spreading to the North. In 1995 the main affected area was the Algarve coast, in an extensive way, covering all the litoral, sea Lagoons and Estuaries. This year only very restricted areas and only some bivalve species at Mondêgo Estuary, Algarve coast and Formosa Lagoon were affected for a short time.)
Individuals to contact: SAMPAYO, Mª Antonia , VILARINHO, Mª da Graça

Location & Date

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Location: Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information: Faro / Vilamoura / Olaho., Algarve coast.
HAB Area code(s): PT-06 PT-07
Additional location information:
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd): Event Date:1996-09-12
Start: 1996-09-17, End: 1996-09-24
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:

Microalgae

Causative organism known: Yes
Causative Species/Genus: Gymnodinium catenatum (2,083 cells/L)
12 September
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: 20 °C, Min: 17 °C
Salinity Range During Event: Max: 37, Min: 34
Bloom location in the water column:
Growth: Advected
In situ
Growth Comments A combination of both.
Additional Environmental information:

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin Toxin type Toxin details Max. concentration Assay type
Donax spp. Saxitoxins STX eq 431 Bioassay-Mouse
Kit used: No Type of kit used:
Additional information:
Economic losses:
Management decision: Bivalve species with PSP values over 80 ug/100g closed to harvest.
Additional harmful effect information: September 17th
IOC/UNESCO ISSHA
IOC/UNESCO ICES PICES