Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms

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Olympic region harmful algal blooms

The ORHAB Partnership was conceived in June 1999 by local residents and coastal communities in response to seemingly random closures of shellfish harvest due to outbreaks of marine biotoxins including paralytic shellfish toxins and domoic acid. Local resource managers and other partners joined with ocean scientists to protect public health on the Washington coast by establishing a comprehensive monitoring and research program to better understand the underlying dynamics of harmful algal blooms (HABs). These research efforts, originally funded by NOAA, have been underway since the summer of 2000 with funding from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, transitioned to State funding starting in 2003 through a surcharge to State shellfish licenses. Tribal governments support their own internal monitoring programs and work cooperatively with state and academic ORHAB partners.

our mission

ORHAB shares knowledge with local communities on the Olympic Peninsula of the Washington State coast, empowering tribal and state managers to make scientifically-based decisions about managing and mitigating harmful algal bloom (HAB) impacts on coastal fishery resources.

Sharing a common need to better understand the underlying dynamics of these disruptive events, a regional partnership was formed of tribal and non-tribal community leaders, businesses, and state and federal resource managers and researchers. Together they joined to form ORHAB- a regional forum to collaboratively seek answers.

Collaboration

To date, ORHAB project has prevented commercial product recalls, limited the occurrences of recreationally-harvested clams that must be destroyed, and lessened the impact from the loss of tourism dollars to local economies associated with short-notice recreational harvest closures and public notice of toxic events. This collaboration offers a model for reducing overall costs of HAB monitoring by taking advantage of the resources of our many partners. The formation of working relationships among the region’s agencies leads to better communication, collaboration and supporting monitoring costs with local funding.

Benefits to Managers

Because the ORHAB project provides weekly phytoplankton levels at several beach locations, the Washington State Dept of Health (WDOH) has allowed the Dept of Fish and Wildlife and tribal managers to reduce the number of razor clam samples to be tested prior to beach opening for harvest. This results in reduced cost and faster analysis. Prior to ORHAB, four days was needed to test clams for toxins and to post results. Now, because of WDFW’s and tribe’s strong collaboration with other partners, results are posted in only two days.

Razor clammingon the WashingtonState coast USA_VeraTrainer
clams and shovel on beach 1
RazorClamsThatCanContainthe Toxin, Domoic Acid_WashingtonState coast, USA_VeraTrainer
clams and shovel on beach 4
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Recent HAB Bulletins

  • May 26, 2022
  • May 13, 2022
  • April 21, 2022
  • April 7, 2022
  • September 27, 2021
  • September 12, 2021
  • June 7, 2021
  • May 20, 2021
  • May 9, 2021
  • April 21, 2021
  • April 11, 2021
  • October 8, 2020
  • September 11, 2020
  • August 15, 2020
  • May 19, 2020
  • April 21, 2020
  • March 25, 2020

Media

The following media reports were made possible through collaboration with ORHAB:

  • —Harmful Algal Blooms – Early Warning Systems to the Rescue (FishSens Magazine, February 28, 2022)

  • –Washington’s razor clam season shut down by hazardous algal blooms
    (Crosscut, March 31, 2021)

  • –As Algae Blooms Increase, Scientists Seek Better Ways to Predict These Toxic Tides
    (Science News, 28 August 2018)

  • –HAB Forecast Gives Washington Confidence to Proceed with Razor  Clam Festival
    (NCCOS, 19 April 2018)

  • –Record-setting Razor Clam Harvest Aided by Pacific Northwest HAB Forecast
    (NCCOS, 20 June 2017)

  • –NOAA Funds Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast System Development in Pacific Northwest
    (NCCOS, 29 September 2016)

  • –UW Gets NOAA Grant to Begin Testing New Forecast for Toxic Shellfish
    (University of Washington, 29 September 2016)

 

Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms

P.O. Box 1628 Forks, WA 98331

orhab@uw.edu | 360-374-3220

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