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Alexandrium “Red Tide” in New England: 2006 Harmful Algal Bloom Update

Weekly Updates Archive

July 27, 2006

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

July 20, 2006

Researchers from EPA, FDA, NOAA, WHOI, and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries conducted a survey on July 7-12, 2006 aboard EPA's OSV Bold to sample for offshore shellfish toxicity and Alexandrium abundance in southern New England. Cell count data indicated a hotspot of Alexandrium east of Nantucket Island. Cell counts were low south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Islands, east of Cape Cod, and in Massachusetts Bay near Stellwagen Bank. This cruise is the last scheduled survey for the 2006 bloom season. A fall cruise is scheduled aboard WHOI's R/V Oceanus to map post-bloom cyst distributions.

Harvesting closures for some types of shellfish have been lifted in certain areas of western Maine and Massachusetts, but shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

July 13, 2006

Harvesting closures for some types of shellfish have been lifted in certain areas of western Maine and Massachusetts. Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

July 6, 2006

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) conducted their last scheduled survey of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays on June 29-30, 2006. Cell counts did not show detectable levels of Alexandrium cells in Southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays, but Alexandrium cells were still abundant offshore of Cape Ann and extending south (east of Stellwagen Bank). Upwelling favorable conditions have likely shifted the Alexandrium populations offshore. For more on cruise reports from WHOI, click here.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

June 29, 2006

Some shellfish beds in western Mainehave been reopened due in large part to the extensive buoy monitoring project conducted by the State of Maine and the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership with partial funding from CSCOR Event Response. Closures were recently instituted for some areas in eastern Maine but these are typical for this time of year.

A WHOI monitoring cruise in the Massachusetts Bay region is scheduled for the R/V Tioga as soon as the weather permits.

At the request of the FDA, NOAA NMFS has extended the emergency temporary PSP closure off the coasts of NH, MA, and RI, instituted last year .  The closure was due to expire on June 30, 2006 and this rule extends the current closure until December 31, 2006, unless otherwise rescinded by NOAA NMFS. A NOAA/EPA/FDA/ Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MADMF)/WHOI collaborative effort will sample Nantucket Shoals and Stellwagen Bank for Alexandrium cells and cysts and for shellfish toxins in Surf Clams and Ocean Quahogs from July 8-12 using EPA's survey vessel, the OSV Bold.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusettsand New Hampshire.

June 22, 2006

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) R/V Oceanus completed a second survey (June 13-16) of Alexandrium distributions from Casco Bay to Cape Cod, the region where highest cell counts were observed during the previous survey (June 6-13) from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy. Alexandrium cell counts were still high in western Maine but had decreased somewhat off Casco Bay. In northern Massachusetts Bay, there was an offshore movement of the Alexandrium population, likely due to offshore movement of surface waters. Researchers also sampled a transect from the outer Cape to Georges Bank and found an Alexandrium hot-spot at the edge of the Bank. For more on cruise reports from WHOI, click here.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

June 15, 2006

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has completed the R/V Oceanus survey to assess Alexandrium distributions from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy. Alexandrium cell counts were highest from Cape Ann, Massachusetts, to Penobscot Bay, Maine, with peak concentrations off Casco Bay, Maine. The R/V Oceanus is now headed back to the Casco Bay region to monitor bloom development and transport in that area. For more on cruise reports from WHOI, click here.

CSCOR Event Response funding is helping the state of Maine extend their Casco Bay monitoring project though the peak of the bloom to help mitigate bloom impacts on Casco Bay shellfisheries.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. A new closure was issued in western Maine on June 14, 2006. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

June 12, 2006

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) researchers are currently conducting a survey from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy to assess Alexandrium distributions in offshore waters. Sampling conducted from Massachusetts Bay through the mid-coast of Maine as part of this survey (June 7-11) indicated high Alexandrium cell concentrations in nearshore waters from Cape Ann, Massachusetts, to just east of Casco Bay, Maine, with the highest concentrations just off Cape Small, Maine. In Massachusetts Bay, cell counts were generally low in the southern Bay and along the outer Cape but had increased from the previous week in the northern Bay with the highest concentrations near Cape Ann. For more information on cruise reports from WHOI, click here.

WHOI researchers are also running their bloom model in real time and comparing with cruise observations.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. A Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) closure was also instituted in New York, but was likely due to a localized Alexandrium bloom and not related to the Gulf of Maine bloom. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

June 8, 2006

Cruises conducted last week (May 31-June 1) by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays indicated further declines in Alexandrium abundance, with very low or non-detectable concentrations inshore in the northern Bay and lower concentrations at most stations in the southern Bay. The highest concentrations were in the southern Bay at the east entrance of the Cape Cod Canal. For more on cruise reports from WHOI, click here.

WHOI researchers are also running their bloom model in real time and comparing with cruise observations.

WHOI researchers will be conducting an offshore survey from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy June 6-17, 2006, to assess the populations in offshore waters. Sampling will be conducted June 7-8, 2006, in Massachusetts Bay and east of Cape Cod.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire,and Maine.

June 1, 2006

Cruises conducted last week by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) indicate decreased concentrations and an offshore shift of the Alexandrium population in western Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts Bay with significant populations remaining in southern Massachusetts Bay, in Cape Cod Bay, and east of Cape Cod. WHOI's sampling on May 24-25, 2006 in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays showed the highest concentrations just off of Boston. The concentrated patch observed May 18 south of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was absent likely due to the upwelling favorable conditions over the last week (as illustrated by drifter pathsfrom drifters deployed in the Alexandrium patch on May 18). Alexandrium populations remained in Cape Cod Bay, but higher concentrations were shifted to the east, also likely due to upwelling favorable conditions. For more on cruise reports from WHOI, click here .

Sampling will be conducted later this week in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays and along the outer Cape.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

May 25, 2006

WHOI sampling on May 17-18, 2006 in Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay showed that concentrations of the “red tide” alga, Alexandrium, had increased from the previous week. Alexandrium in the southern Bay was most concentrated near the coast. The Alexandrium bloom in northern Massachusetts Bay was split by the freshwater plume with higher concentrations at the edges of the plume and the most concentrated patch south of Gloucester, Massachusetts, on the western side of the plume. For maps of cell counts, visit WHOI .

NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), in conjunction with WHOI, deployed new drifters within the patch of Alexandrium on May 18, 2006 in order to track surface water movements to aid in bloom transport prediction. Drifter paths are posted on a near-daily basis.

NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program and Marine Biotoxins Program are coordinating with northeast states, the Northeast stranding network , NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office, NOAA NEFSC, and the NOAA observer programs to acquire samples of zooplankton, fish, and marine mammals for biotoxin and pathology analyses to investigate toxins in the food web and the potential impacts on marine mammals and their prey.

Shellfish beds are still closed in some areas of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Residents and visitors to the region should follow the guidelines offered by local officials. For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

May 18, 2006

NOAA CSCOR funding supports Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) research cruises to monitor Alexandrium (the New England "Red Tide" organism) abundance, which provides early warning to managers regulating shellfish resources. WHOI is also facilitating rapid communication of data and model results between researchers and managers.

Researchers have been sampling in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts waters bi-weekly since late March and most recently in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays on May 11, 2006. Research cruises are scheduled weekly through May, which is a critical time for assessing bloom potential and extent for 2006. The next WHOI sampling in Massachusetts Bay is scheduled for May 17-18, 2006.

NOAA National Weather Service supplies meteorological data needed for model predictions and is helping WHOI researchers identify windows of more favorable weather conditions to conduct this sampling.

NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), in conjunction with WHOI, deployed drifters on May 4, 11, and 17, 2006 in order to track surface water movements to aid in bloom transport prediction. Drifter paths are posted on a near-daily basis.

For updates on status of shellfish closures, visit state websites: Massachusetts , New Hampshire , and Maine .