The Kodiak region of Alaska has had a long-standing problem with paralytic shellfish poisoning, the dominant harmful algal bloom (HAB) concern in Alaska. A new five-year research partnership led by Alaska Sea Grant will enhance capacity for HAB monitoring by building on efforts of tribal members in the Koniag region with the addition of rapid […]
Mass mortality of seabirds. Marine mammal deaths. Alaskans sickened by shellfish. What’s the common theme? Seawater contaminated by toxic algae. Call it death by phytoplankton. A group of Alaskans — including state officials, tribes, nonprofit organizations and researchers — have recently come together to try to combat these marine toxins. The goal is to keep […]
This week NOAA Fisheries scientists hope to witness the changing colors of the Bering Sea as they investigate why it happens and what it means for the ecosystem that supports the Nation’s biggest fisheries. In the summer of 1997, for the first time anyone could remember, a vast swath of the deep blue Bering Sea […]
The disastrous 2015-16 Dungeness crab season, delayed and shortened by an unprecedented bloom of toxic algae, is a bitter memory for the West Coast fishing industry. The culprit was domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin produced by marine algae and discovered in 1987 as the cause of amnesic shellfish poisoning. Scientists at UC Santa Cruz have […]