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 the 2014 and
2015 outbreaks were up to 300 km
south of the QLD border. The fish from
the 2016 cases were caught up to 120
km further south along the eastern sea-
board. This highlights an urgent need
to further understand the dynamics of
CFP in NSW waters.
It has been thought that larger sized
(>10 kg) Spanish mackerel specimens
were more likely to have detectable
levels of CTXs than smaller sized, and
this information was conveyed to the
fishing community following the out-
breaks 9. There are established com-
mercial fishing bans, including Spanish
mackerel of any size in designated QLD
locations, due to the risk of CTX-con-
taminated fish 1,2. While localised
populations exist, Spanish mackerel can
migrate several hundred kilometres 5.
Although increased reports of CFP may
be a reflection of increased awareness
of the disease in NSW, increasing ocean
temperatures and an intensification of
the East Australian Current 10 could
influence the behaviour of Spanish
mackerel and CTX-producing Gambier-
discus spp. Further research is essential
to simultaneously mitigate the risks to
consumer health and minimise the im-
pact to the fishing community.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr Chowdhury Saro-
war for his assistance with toxin analy-
ses. The authors wish to thank NSW
Food Authority officers for aiding with
sample collection. The authors also
wish to thank the individuals affected
by CFP who participated in the investi-
gations, and medical personal and NSW
Health officers who provided notifica-
tions of the illness outbreaks.
References
1. Lehane L & Lewis RJ 2000. Int J of Food
Microbiol 61: 91125
2. Stewart I et al 2010. Toxicon 56:
804812
3. Sumner J et al 2011. Hazards Affecting
Australian Seafood Parts 1 & 2. Report
to SafeFish and the Australian Seafood
Cooperative Research Centre (May,
2011). SARDI, Urrbrae, SA. 87pp
4. Farrell H et al 2016. Commun Dis Intell
40(1): E1E6
5. Tobin A & Mapleston A 2004. Exploita-
tion dynamics and biological charac-
teristics of the Queensland east coast
Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus
commerson) fishery, CRC Reef Research
Centre Technical Report No. 51 (CRC
The CODIMAR launches a bilingual
taxonomic guide of marine dino
flagellates
CODIMAR, the Marine Dinoflagellate
Collection, Mexico, was established
by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tec-
nología in 2004. CODIMAR has launched
a bilingual guide of the taxonomy of
marine dinoflagellates. The guide uses
file cards and original photographic
sheets to illustrate the taxonomic and
morphological characteristics of 26 di-
noflagellate species that were isolated
mainly from the southern Gulf of Cali-
fornia and Cuban coastal waters. It also
brings together a review of 26 scientif-
ic articles that contain information on
some strains of CODIMAR. The genera
6
described in the guide are: Akashiwo,
Alexandrium, Ceratium, Cochlodinium,
Coolia, Gymnodinium, Lingulodinium,
Ostreopsis, Pentapharsodinium, Proro-
centrum, Protoceratium, Pyrodinium,
Pyrophacus, Scrippsiella and Vulcanodin-
ium. Updated information on biological,
ecological and geographical distribution
aspects, as well as harmful effects and/
or toxicity, are also included.
Revenue from the sale of this guide
will be used entirely for maintenance
and progress of CODIMAR. Contact de-
tails and information about how to or-
der the guide are given below.
Reef Research Centre, Townsville), 69pp
Yogi K et al 2011. T. Anal. Chem. 83(23):
8886-8891
7. Harwood et al (in prep). Toxicon
8. US Department of Health and Human
Services Food and Drug Administration;
Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition. Fish and Fishery Products
Hazards and Controls Guidance. 4 th edn.
April 2011. 476pp
9. NSW Food Authority 2016. Advice to
fishers on mid north NSW Coast. Avail-
able from: http://www.foodauthority.
nsw.gov.au/news/newsandmedia/
departmental/2016-04-11-ciguatera-
advice-to-fishers
10. Ridgway K & Hill K 2012. East Austral-
ian Current. In Poloczanska ES et al
(eds) A Marine Climate Change Impacts
and Adaptation Report for Australia
2012. Retrieved from www.oceanclimat-
echange.org.au (26 June 2016)
6.
Authors
Hazel Farrell & Anthony Zammit, NSW Food
Authority, 6 Avenue of the Americas, Newing-
ton, NSW 2127, Australia
D. Tim Harwood, Cawthron Institute, 98
Halifax Street East, Nelson, New Zealand
Shauna Murray, Plant Functional Biology
and Climate Change Cluster (C3), University
of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007,
Australia
Email:
hazel.farrellfoodauthority.nsw.gov.au
Scientific publication from the Cen-
tro de Investigaciones Biológicas del
Noroeste, S.C. (CIBNOR) MEXICO
Illustrated taxonomic guide of
the Marine Dinoflagellate Collection
(CODIMAR) Guía taxonómica ilustra-
da de la Colección de Dinoflagelados
Marinos (CODIMAR)
Lourdes Morquecho-Escamilla, Amada
Reyes-Salinas, Yuri B. Okolodkov
ISBN 978-607-7634-20-1
Languages: English-Spanish
$27 USD + shipping costs
More information at: lamorquecho
cibnor.mx, http://www.cibnor.mx Re-
search > Biological Collections > CODI-
MAR
HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 54 / 2016
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