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cates new blooms considered as candidates for HABs. Summer and

autumn blooms following upwelling winds and near fronts are flagged

as potential HABs.

The chlorophyll concentration in the anomaly

also provides an estimate of the number of cells present.

Once poten-

tial HABs are identified, their presence is rapidly confirmed by in situ

sampling by the State of Florida environmental managers.

After the bloom is confirmed, a team of experts integrate and inter-

pret the data with wind and current models to predict likely bloom

movement and landfall. Nowcasts and forecasts are issued through a

website for the public

and through bulletins for managers. Both of

these are critical for strategic planning of sampling efforts and timely

dissemination of advisories. After almost 15 years of preliminary

research, NOAA was able to validate this approach

and by 2004 suffi-

cient capability existed for NOAA to start the operation of the HAB

Forecast System for the West Coast of Florida, providing monitoring

and forecasting capabilities to local coastal managers.

Advisories are

now provided to over 250 officials in the region and are used for diverse

purposes ranging from redirecting tourists from potentially affected

areas, to preparing county health officials for increased caseloads, to

preparing agencies for unusual mortality events of marine mammals.

Presently, the only fully operational unit is the forecast provided for

the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, since 2006, a demonstration

project has also been successful for the Texas coast of the US.

ORHAB forecast

– Another success story is the forecast developed

in the Pacific Northeast by the Olympic Region HAB (ORHAB) part-

nership in response to seemingly random closures of

shellfisheries due to razor clam contamination by algal

biotoxin. Of particular concern were blooms of the algae

Pseudo-nitzschia

that produces Domoic Acid (DA). When

ingested, DA is responsible for Amnesic Shellfish

Poisoning (ASP) in humans. With five years of support

from NOAA, ORHAB developed collaboration among

federal, state and local management agencies, coastal

Indian tribes, marine resource-based businesses, public

interest groups and academic institutions. Their focus

on HAB research led to increased local ability to monitor

and mitigate the effects of such events. ORHAB partners

investigated the origins of toxic blooms, monitored

where and when they occurred, assessed the environ-

mental conditions conducive to blooms and

contamination by toxins of shellfish. Ultimately, ORHAB

developed and adopted a combination of analytical tech-

niques,

including

twice-weekly

microscopic

determination of total

Pseudo-nitzschia

cells and levels

of DA in seawater particulates to provide managers with

an effective early warning of DA problems.

In May 2002, the first ‘ORHAB Alert’ was sent to

coastal managers indicating a rapid rise in

Pseudo-

nitzschia

cells in several areas along the Olympic coast.

Teamwork between Washington State agencies and

Red algae accumulation on Sanibel Island, Florida (US) in January 2007

Image: Mike Valiquette, Purre Water Coalition (Florida, US)