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Harmful marine algal blooms and climate change: progress on a formidable predictive challenge

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posted on 2023-05-22, 16:26 authored by Gustaaf HallegraeffGustaaf Hallegraeff
In a strict sense, harmful algal blooms are completely natural phenomena that have occurred throughout recorded history (e.g. Exodus, Captain Vancouver in 1793). Whereas in the past three decades unexpected new algal bloom phenomena have often been attributed to eutrophication or ship ballast water introduction, increasingly novel algal bloom episodes are now circumstantially linked to climate change. It is unfortunate that so few long-term records exist of algal blooms at any single locality; ideally we need at least 30 consecutive years. Whether the apparent global increase in harmful algal blooms represents a real increase or not is therefore a question that we will probably not be able to answer conclusively for some time to come. There is no doubt that our growing interest in using coastal waters for aquaculture is leading to a greater awareness of toxic algal species. People responsible for deciding quotas for pollutant loadings of coastal waters, or for managing agriculture and deforestation, should be made aware that one probable outcome of allowing polluting chemicals to seep into the environment will be an increase in harmful algal blooms. In countries that pride themselves on having disease and pollution-free aquaculture, every effort should be made to quarantine sensitive aquaculture areas against the unintentional introduction of non-indigenous harmful algal species. Nor can any aquaculture industry afford not to monitor for an increasing number of harmful algal species in water and for an increasing number of algal toxins in seafood products, or to use increasingly sophisticated analytical techniques such as LC-MS. Last but not least, global climate change is now adding a new level of uncertainty to many seafood safety monitoring programs.

History

Publication title

Climate Change and Marine and Freshwater Toxins

Editors

LM Botana, C Louzao, N Vilarno

Pagination

181-193

ISBN

978-3-11-033303-9

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

De Gruyter

Place of publication

Germany

Extent

13

Rights statement

Copyright 2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Fisheries - aquaculture not elsewhere classified

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