Early Warning Bulletin for the Razor Clam Fishery in Washington State

Domoic acid-producing Pseudo-nitzschia blooms are a recurrent problem along the entire Pacific coast of the United States. This toxin, domoic acid, can accumulate in shellfish and cause amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in human consumers. The Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom (ORHAB) partnership involves Federal, state, and local management agencies, coastal Indian tribes, marine resource-based businesses, public interest groups, and academic institutions. Using information generated in ORHAB as well as a 5-year multidisciplinary, multi-institutional study in the coastal ocean (ECOHAB PNW), the ORHAB partnership ultimately developed and adopted a combination of techniques to provide managers an effective early warning of domoic acid toxicity in shellfish. Building upon ORHAB, the Pacific Northwest Harmful Algal Bloom (PNW HAB) Bulletin is a web-based information dashboard developed to provide a comprehensive early warning information system for Washington coast HAB events. The forecasts include analysis of information on algal species and numbers of cells, present and future winds, computer models of ocean currents and of locations of river plumes. The forecasts have increased the commercial, subsistence, and recreational harvest of razor clams while minimizing the health risks to consumers.