Is Ciguatera moving south in Australia? Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is well- known in tropical regions around the world, including the Pacific. The illness occurs through the consumption of fish that have accumulated naturally occur- ring ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by the dinoflagellate genus Gambierdis- cus. In Australia, there were more than 1,400 documented cases between 1965 and 2010 1-3, including two fatalities, despite a significant rate of apparent under-reporting. Cases of CFP have oc- curred principally due to fish caught in tropical Queensland (QLD) and North- ern Territory (NT) waters. Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) is the fish species that has been most commonly involved in Australian CFP cases 4. CFP is recognised as the most frequent cause of seafood-related ill- nesses in Australia 3. During March and April 2016, two outbreaks of CFP were reported from consumption of Spanish macker- el caught in New South Wales (NSW) coastal waters. NSW is the state im- mediately south of QLD, along which the East Australian current runs in a southerly direction (Fig.1). This marks the third consecutive year since 2014 where CFP has been linked to Spanish mackerel caught in NSW waters. Twen- ty-four individuals were affected over five separate outbreaks between Feb- ruary 2014 and April 2016. These oc- currences appear to be uncharacteristic for the region. A CFP outbreak follow- ing consumption of Spanish mackerel caught off Brunswick Heads (Fig. 1) in 2002 was the single recorded case from NSW prior to 2014 4,5. Pacific ciguatoxin-1B (P-CTX-1B) is regarded as a potent fish metabolite and is common to ciguatoxic fish sourced from the Pacific region 6. Following the two CFP outbreaks in NSW during 2014, P-CTX-1B was reported at con- centrations between 0.4 and 1 μg kg -1 in three of four fish samples (Fig. 1). These results were likely an underestimation of P-CTX-1B due to significant matrix suppression from fish tissue during the analyses 4. At that time, testing was completed at the Cawthron Institute (New Zealand). Since then, capability to test for CTXs in fish samples has been established in NSW, and supported the 2016 illness investigations. Spanish mackerel fillet samples from the fish implicated in the Crescent Head (two samples, Fig. 1) and Crowdy Head (one sample, Fig. 1) cases were analysed. Fol- lowing the illness reports, samples were kept frozen prior to analysis. A Thermo Orbitrap liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) system was used to detect P-CTX-1B in the fish samples. The performance of the method is the subject of a manuscript currently in preparation 7. All samples from the 2016 cases were positive for P-CTX-1B with indicative concentrations of 0.11 and 0.37 μg kg -1 (20 kg Spanish mack- erel, Crescent Head, Fig. 1) and 0.93 μg kg -1 (40 kg Spanish mackerel, Crowdy Head, Fig. 1). It is also highly likely that other CTXs were present in these fish samples, although at the time of analy- sis only P-CTX-1B was available as ref- erence material. While traditionally considered as a tropical or sub-tropical disease, CFP has become an emerging issue in loca- tions previously thought to be outside its range of impact. The concentrations of P-CTX-1B in the fish that caused ill- ness in NSW were up to two orders of magnitude higher than the US Food and Drug Administrations action level (0.01 μg kg -1 CTX equivalent for Pacif- Fig. 1. Map of coastline of New South Wales (NSW), Australia documenting catch locations of fish associated with ciguatera fish poisoning outbreaks. In all cases, the implicated fish was identified by the fisher as Spanish mackerel (S. commerson). The weight of the fish, number of affected individuals and indicative concentration of P-CTX-1B are reported where available. (Note: n/a = not available, nd = not detected, NT = Northern Territory, QLD = Queensland). HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016 5 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 54 - August 2016 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab Exceptional climate anomalies and north wards expansion of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning outbreaks in Southern Chile Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), in partic- ular recurrent events of the P 6. Díaz PA et al. 2014. Harmful Algae 40: 9-22 7. Molinet C et al 2003. Rev Chil Hist Nat 76: 681-698 Authors Cristina Hernández, Laboratorio Salud Pública, Seremi de Salud Región de Los Lagos, Crucero 1915, Puerto Montt, Chile Fig. 2. Evolution of the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) from 1950 to 2016. e Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in southern Cuba during anomalous hot dry seasons (average depth, 1.2 m) estu- ary fed by the Arimao River. This wetland is on the south- west of the semi-enclosed Bay of Cienfuegos (southern Cuba) and connected to it by a single channel. The area is subject to two periods (April/May 2005 and January 2015) 8-9. During the 2015, a bloom of C. polykrikoides was also recorded in channels of a small marina from Hava- na, north-western Cuba, in September, without apparent damage to marine life 10. Acknowledgements Fig. 2. C. polykrikoides (A) and dead blue crabs (C Is Ciguatera moving south in Australia? Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is well- known in tropical regions around the world, including the Pacific. The illness occurs through the consumption of fish that have accumulated naturally occur- ring ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by the dinoflagellate genus Ga ic CTX) 8. The illnesses occurred be- tween February and April each year in NSW (Fig 1), coinciding with the peak Spanish mackerel fishing season. There is an apparent southern expansion of the geographic range of CFP along the east coast of Australia (Fig. 1). The catch locations of the fish from t A survey of BHAB assemblages utilizing the artificial substrate method in Rawa Island, Malaysia Benthic dinoflagellates are marine tychoplanktonic inhabitants on the natural substrates of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical coastal wa- ters. These dinoflagellates are associ- ated with their pref Annual variability of Prorocentrum lima and abiotic factors in Chengue Bay, T ayrona National Park, Colombian Caribbean Fig. 1. Study area where samples of Thalassia testudinum were collected. Chengue Bay (black star), Tayrona National Park, Colombian Caribbean Prorocentrum lima is a cosmopolitan s del Mar -CECIMAR (sede Caribe) y Pro- grama de Postgrados en Biología - Línea Biología Marina ( contribution 430 ). Thanks also to the Banco Español de Algas de Gran Canaria, in particular to Mr. E. Soler Onis, and to the Jardin Bo- tánico Canario Viera y Clavijo for sup- port with the SEM, and to t Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates A Training Workshop on the Culturing and Identification of Benthic Harmful Marine Dinoflagellates was held in the State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollu- tion (SKLMP), City University of Hong Kong between 1 Fig. 1. Participants in the workshop at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 14-21 June, 2016. Fig. 2. Demonstrating basic techniques in BHAB culturing (Po Teen Lim, Chung-Kuang Lu, Chui Pin Leaw and the participants). HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016 11 Regional Training Course on Identifica tion of Harmful Algal Bloom Species in the ASEAN Region, Singapore, 18 th -22 nd July 2016 Harmful algal blooms (HABs) can cause major environmental disturbances, severe economic loss to industries, fisheries and tourism, and also pose significant health risks Participants were encouraged to orga- nize local or regional training courses to train more experts on harmful algae identification. The IOC WESTPAC-HAB working group shall assist local groups in training their local community by sending suitable trainers to the training workshop and by providing te ASIMUTH special issue of Harmful Algae The European Commission (EC) 7th Framework Programme (FP7) project Applied Simulations and Integrated Modelling for the Understanding of Toxic and Harmful Algal Blooms (ASI- MUTH) ran from 2010-2013. It involved 11 partners from Portu- gal, Spain, France, Irela Last News on the 17 th ICHA The local and international organizing committees are busily planning the 17 th International Conference on Harmful Algae (17 th ICHA), in Florianopolis, Bra- zil from 9 th -14 th October 2016. For the first time in history, Latin America will host the conference and is l Forthcoming events Seafood Safety: New Findings & Innovation Challenges Brussels, 25-26 January 2017 Deadline for registration: 15 January 2017 (early bird 25 November 2016). Abstract submission deadline: 15 October 2016. www.ecsafeseafoodconference.com 11th International Conference on Modern and Fo