Nodularin accumulation in New Zealand shortfin eel from Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa in 1866 2 and, from the 1940s onwards, open- ings have been carried out regularly. In 2008, the rūnanga attempted to create a permanent opening by constructing a 900 m canal and 300 m groyne at the eastern end of the beach against the cliffs. Although the end of this canal can be- come blocked, it is a more Fig. 1. Map showing Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa, the eel gaff- straightforward process ing site and the location of the lake in New Zealand (inset). to re-open it than creating a beach channel. The flow Lake Forsyth is a small coastal lake on rates of the canal are also considerably the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury lower than that generated from a beach region of New Zealand; 7.8 km long channel. This has an advantage of being and 1.3 km at its widest point (Fig. 1). able to control lake levels more effec- The Māori name for the lake, Te Roto o tively and the less turbulent flow-rate Wairewa, means water lifted up and in may assist in the recruitment of elvers Māori legends Te Wairewa was the last (glass eels) during spring openings. lake to be dug out by Rākaihautū as he There has been some improvement sculpted the lakes and mountains of the in water quality and lake ecology over South Island of New Zealand. The lake this time (e.g., growth of macrophyte is very important to the local Rūnanga beds and resulting clear water within (tribe) and has provided an important the beds), which may be attributed to food source, both historically and at better control of lake levels. However, present. In early historic times Lake the lake has had a recent downturn in Forsyth/Te Wairewa was an estuarine 2016, with some of the most severe and environment, however persistent depo- prolonged cyanobacteria blooms re- sition of gravel from nearby rivers even- ported to-date. As Nodularia spumigena tually led to the closing of the estuary commonly produces the hepatotoxin mouth. The closure and a significant nodularin, farm stock deaths have been increase in sediment flow into the lake encountered along the shores of Lake over the last 150 years due to defor- Forsyth/Te Wairewa. In 2016, 30 sheep estation has, in part led to a decline in were reported to have died after drink- the lakes water quality 1 and since ing from the lake, as well as several dogs the early 1900s it has been described belonging to nearby residents. as eutrophic, suffering from persistent Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa is a valu- blooms of the cyanobacterium Nodu- able wetland ecosystem, providing laria spumigena (Fig. 2). homes for a variety of waterfowl and The water levels of Lake Forsyth/ aquatic animals such as flounder, bul- Te Wairewa must be artificially con- lies, whitebait, banded kōkopu and trolled to mitigate the risk from land eel (or tuna in Māori). Introduced fish inundation. To do this, a channel was species such as perch and brown trout cut through the gravel to link the lake can also be found in the lake. As nodu- to the sea. Typically the shortest route larin has been shown to accumulate in was taken. The channels are temporary; aquatic animals 3-7, we investigated quickly filled in due to the high-energy the accumulation of the toxin in short- waves moving gravel along the shore fin eel (Anguilla australis) from the lake plus the dominant drift of sediment 8. Shortfin eel are native to New Zea- down the coast from the braided rivers land, but are also found in south-east- located to the north. The earliest re- ern Australia and some Pacific islands. corded artificial opening of the lake was In many of New Zealands freshwater HARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 56 / 2017 food webs they are the apex predator, and as opportunistic scavengers, they play an important role in recycling nu- trients. They are primarily found in lowland lakes, estuaries and the lower reaches of rivers, and can reach a maxi- mum size of approximately 3 kg and 1.1 m in length 9. They are catadromous, and on reaching maturity (6-24 yrs for males, 10-34 yrs for females), the eels stop feeding and migrate up to three or four thousand kilometres over approxi- mately four months to a deep water spawning ground somewhere off New Caledonia 10. In New Zealand, tuna (eels) have huge customary and cultural signifi- cance to the indigenous Māori popula- tion. They are integral to their whakapa- pa (genealogies or stories which create a foundation of meaning for the people) and are an important mahinga kai (tra- ditional food source). In recognition of the importance of eels to Māori, the New Zealand government set aside a number of waterways for eel fishing by only the local Māori people, including Lake For- syth/Te Wairewa. In autumn, migrating eels gather at the gravel bar separat- ing the lake from the sea where small channels are dug into the gravel bar at the bottom of the lake (Fig.3A; Site in- dicated on Fig.1). As the eels gather in the channels, they are gaffed (speared) using a pole with a sharp hook on the end (Fig. 3B). Historically, up to several hundred eels were harvested per night when conditions were suitable. More recent studies suggest that shortfin eel populations in the lake are in a state of decline 11. Because of the persistent cyanobac- terial blooms and the human consump- tion of these eels, we assessed if nodu- larin accumulated in shortfin eels from Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa, and whether the concentrations would pose a risk to the health of humans who consume them 8. Nodularin is heat-stable and thus not destroyed by cooking. With the help of the local rūnanga and others we collected migratory and feeding (non- migratory) shortfin eels, and analysed the liver and muscle tissue for nodular- in content. Surface water samples were also collected to assess the concentra- tion of N. spumigena and nodularin in the water. The samples were collected opportunistically between 2004 and 2014. 13 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 56 - March 2017 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab Is Gambierdiscus expanding its geographic range in the Pacific region? Content HAB events and toxin effects Gambierdiscus distribution in the Pacific . ................................... Table 1: Geographic occurrence and toxin production (as determined by LCMS/MS) of Gambierdiscus species in the Pacific region. Species reported in the Pacific region G. australes G. balechii G. belizeanus G. caribaeus G. carpenteri G. cheloniae G. lapillus G. pacificus G. polynesiensis G. scabrosus Fig. 2. Scanning electron micrographs of cells of Gambierdiscus sp., isolate CAWD242, from the Kermadec Islands: (A) view of cingulum and apical pore, (B) apical pore complex, (C) antapi- cal hypotheca. this will bring the number of Gambier- discus species to fifteen. A related species, originally d lished data). The role of MTXs in ciguat- era fish poisoning is uncertain and due to its low oral toxicity may only play a small part in toxic events 21. A range of cell-based assays is avail- able to detect CFP-related toxins, includ- ing receptor binding (RBA), Ca 2+ flux, N2A and haemolytic assay Toxin production in lab-rat-diatoms (e.g. Pseudo-nitzschia) in the presence of copepods From only 15 species in 1965, currently 49 Pseudo-nitzschia species have been described, of which 22 have the abil- ity to produce the toxin domoic acid (DA), along with two Nitzschia species 1. Both numbers are Apart from increasing toxin produc- tion in already toxic species/strains, presence of grazers may even induce toxin production in species previously considered non-toxic, as shown for P. obtusa 3. It is therefore relevant to consider that all Pseudo-nitzschia spe- cies might have the potential to p Ecology of Alexandrium spp. in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada 2015 Fig. 1 Citizen Science sampling stations in the Strait of Georgia, Canada in 2015. Fig. 2. Citizen Science sampling areas in the Strait of Georgia, Canada in 2015. Coastal waters of British Columbia (BC), Canada have Table 1. Number of water samples (N) collected by the Citizen Science Program, frequency of samples with Alexandrium spp. presence (Alex. +), and number of water samples with Alexan- drium spp. cells present by month, Strait of Georgia 2015 (n/a - no samples were collected). Area Ladysmith Cowichan A clarification of three unnamed raphidophytes previously described from British Columbia gated motile cell with very similar chlo- roplasts and the oval Lugol-fixed cell in Fig. 2 #3 were probably equivalent to the long cells formed by V. globosus in stationary growth (see 5 Figs. 7 & 8). Raphidoph Fig. 3. Raphidophyte 2 from a culture in 1974. Motile cell, ventral view 11.5 μm long. reproduced here at a smaller size (Fig. 4) and are interpreted (in the figure caption) by the author. Photographs of motile cells under stress received from Nicky Haigh (Mi- crothalassia) (not shown here) reveal t Autumnal algal bloom succession in northern coasts of Gulf of Oman Fig. 1. Map of the study area The composition of harmful algal blooms is determined by the diversity and abundance of different species pre- sent. Temporal fluctuations in phyto- plankton populations can lead to a suc- cession of dif Table 1. Maximal mean density of the observed bloom species and physical-chemical properties of the near-shore waters during autumnal algal blooms in the northern Gulf of Oman Date 26 October 2016 04 November 2016 09 November 2016 29 November 2016 03 December 2016 Species/ Genus Alexandrium sp. Pror Nodularin accumulation in New Zealand shortfin eel from Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa in 1866 2 and, from the 1940s onwards, open- ings have been carried out regularly. In 2008, the rūnanga attempted to create a permanent opening by constructing a 900 m canal and 300 m groyne at the eastern end of the bea Fig. 2. Nodularia spumigena from Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa at 400 magnification (A) and blooms of the cyanobacterium at the lake in 2006 (B). Fig. 3. Eel fishing channels at Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa (A) and members of the rūnanga of Wairewa catching eels in the channels by gaffing (B; photo provided by The Scottish Coastal Observatory Scotlands coastal environment is sub- ject to inherent variability resulting from short term processes such as tides and weather, the seasonal cycle, multi- annual cycles such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and larger scale influences such as climate change and oc The RedFANnetwork: a working group to deal with HABs in Mexico In October 2014 the network RedFAN (from the acronym in Spanish: Red temática sobre Florecimientos Algales Nocivos) was created with the financial support of the Mexican National Coun- cil of Science and Technology (CONA- CyT). This netw Caribbean Ciguatera Experts Discuss a Risk Management System for the IOCARIBE Region Over the past three decades the inci- dence of ciguatera has increased in the Caribbean countries by about 32 1. Despite the evidence of toxic events and their potential consequences on public health, fisheries and IOC/WESTPAC Scientists Shape the Future of Regional HAB Research More than twenty experts from coun- tries in the Western Pacific gathered in Nha Trang, Vietnam, 19-22 December 2016 to foster cooperation and define research priorities for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the region (Fig. 1). The East ing the ongoing HAB research and ca- pacity building efforts at these levels. Dr. Po Teen Lim presented the science and implementation plans of the IOC- SCOR sponsored new GlobalHAB re- search program (Fig. 3). It was widely recognized that national and regional efforts are complementary to global e In memory of Paul Harrison With great sorrow, we learned of the recent unexpected passing of our col- league, mentor and friend Paul J. Har- rison. Among his many contributions, Paul was a founding member of the Sci- entific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) working Group 137 SCOR WG 137 Global supply, marine resources, climate change impacts and environmental protection. His voice and perspec- tive will be sorely absent. Paul will be greatly missed by those he touched, but especially by Victoria, his wife of 51 years, and their children Rachel, Richard and Christina. A scholarship fund th 11th International Conference on Modern and Fossil Dinoflagellates The University of Bordeaux (France) is the organiser of the 11 th International Conference on Modern and Fossil Dino- flagellates, DINO11, which will be held from 17 to 21 July 2017 at Bordeaux, France. This series of conference was IOC Qualifications in Identification and Enumeration of Harmful Marine Microalgae A now traditional IOC course on identi- fication of harmful marine microalgae, including optional workshops on enu- meration and culture techniques. The 2017 course will be held from 6 to 19 August at the IOC Science a Taxonomic Note Oceanography special issue Alexandrium catenella vs. A. fundyense The Nomenclature Committee for Algae has decided (Prudhomme van Reine, 2017) that the name Gonyaulax catenel- la (Alexandrium catenella) should not be rejected and that A. fundyense and A. catenella are conspecific havi