Harmful Algal Information System: Event US-94-017

General Information

Event name:	US-94-017
Country:	UNITED STATES
Nature of the harmful event:	Seafood toxins
Event directly affected:
Toxicity detected:	Yes (Approximate range: 930 痢 STXeq / 100 g tissue.)
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 (1927, 1929, 1932, 1954, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994.)
Individuals to contact:	ROSS, Maria R.

Location & Date

[View larger map]

Location:	Latitude: , Longitude:
General location information:	Marin County., California. HAB Area code(s): US-21
Additional location information:	Marin County, California. Areas affected: Drakes Bay, Drakes Estewro, Tomales Bay, Kehoe Beach, Muir Beach.
Bloom event dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Quarantine levels dates (yyyy/mm/dd):
Additional date-related information:	January (320 痢/100 g tissue), February (11 痢), March (230 痢), April (680 痢), May (220 痢), August (330 痢), September (930 痢).

Microalgae

Causative organism known:	Yes
Causative Species/Genus:	Alexandrium catenella ( cells/L)
Co-Ocurring Species/Genus:
Chlorophyll concentration, if known:	µg/l
Additional bloom information:	Alexandrium catenellum.
Event-related bibliography:	State of California Department of Health Services. Shellfish Monitoring Program (SDHSSMP). Technical report No. 94-03 thru 94-28.

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: °C, Min: °C

Salinity Range During Event:

Bloom location in the water column:

Growth:

In situ

Growth Comments

In situ growth; high concentrations of A. catenellum were noted each time the PSP concentrations were recorded in the shellfish.

Additional Environmental information:

Warming trend in the sea surface temperatures (SST) following a brief upwelling period.

Toxin Assay Information

Species containing the toxin	Toxin type	Toxin details	Max. concentration	Assay type
Sentinel Bay Mussel	Saxitoxins	STX eq	930	Bioassay-Mouse
Cultured Pacific Oysters	Saxitoxins	STX eq	Detectable	Bioassay-Mouse

Kit used: No

Type of kit used:

Additional information:

Sentinel Bay Mussel (SBM) 930 痢; detectable but below alert levels of PSP in Cultured Pacific Oysters (CPO) were evident.

Economic losses:

Management decision:

On January 21, 1994 a quarantine was established for sport-harvested mussels which was lifted on March 7th by the Director of the State Department of Health Services. On March 31 a special quarantine was again establiched due to the rapid increase in PSP

Additional harmful effect information: