Harmful Algal Information System: Event US-89-020

General Information

Event name:	US-89-020
Country:	UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:	Mass mortalities
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected:	No
Associated syndrome:
Unexplained toxicity:	No
Species implicated in toxin transmission (transvector):
Report the outcome of a monitoring programme:	Yes
Event occurred before in this location:	Yes (Probably in same area in 1976. There has been no systematic monitoring at Cypress Island in previous years and there was no evidence of Heterosigma occurrence at Port Angeles in 1988 where monitoring was done.)
Individuals to contact:	HORNER, Rita

Location & Date

[View larger map]

Location:	Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information:	Cypress Island, Port Angeles., Washington. HAB Area code(s): US-24
Additional location information:
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:	Cypress Island: peak fish mortality occurred form 5-9 September 1989 Port Angeles: 8-10 September 1989

Microalgae

Causative organism known:	Yes
Causative Species/Genus:	Heterosigma akashiwo ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known:	µg/l
Additional bloom information:
Event-related bibliography:

Environmental Conditions

Weather:	Warm sunny weather, calm conditions	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: 17 °C, Min: 18 °C

Salinity Range During Event:

Bloom location in the water column:

Surface

Growth:

Advected

Growth Comments

May have been advected from British Columbia and probably associated with the Fraser River plume or plume fringe.

Additional Environmental information:

Water temperature 17-18�C in shallow (ca. 1 m deep) water. Cells generally concentrated in upper 2 m.

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin

Toxin type

Toxin details

Max. concentration

Assay type

Kit used: No

Type of kit used:

Additional information:

Economic losses:

Management decision:

Rapid harvest of dead and moribund fish; stopped feeding and other activity around the pens. Port Angeles had more warning and placed tarps around the pens to cut down water circulation. Port Angeles had little loss.

Additional harmful effect information:

Massive kills of Atlantic salmon in net pens; also chinook salmon and rainbow trout. The smallest fish survived; larger fish died first, especially brood stock.