The ICES-IOC Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics 2020 Meeting The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) have collaborated closely for 26 years, stimulating research on HAB population dynamics and monitoring through the joint Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics (WGHABD). This year the WGHABD meeting was hosted by Hanna Mazur-Marzec and Justyna Kobos from the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk in Sopot, Poland from the 3rd 6th March 2020. Every year working group members update the IOC-ICES-PICES Harmful Algal Event Database (HAEDAT) with HAB event data from the previous year. These data provide the basis for an ICES Harmful Algal Event Status Report which will be completed during 2020. This ICES report as well as a number of peer reviewed papers from WGHABD members will form the ICES contribution to the forthcoming IOC Global HAB Status Report. National reports showed that HABs continued to cause a variety of problems in the ICES area during 2019. Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PSTs) and Amnesic Shellfish Toxins (ASTs) contin- Fig. 1. ICES-IOC WGHABD 2020 meeting 20 ued to impact the east coast and west coasts of the USA, with Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins (DSTs) also causing problems in Washington State. Karenia brevis continued to cause issues in the Gulf of Mexico. A bloom of Levanderina fissa resulted in fish and crab mortalities in the Potomac river in Virginia. Fish and marine mammal mortalities recorded on Mississippi beaches were caused by a cyanobacteria bloom resulting from river discharge from the Mississippi. PSTs, DSTs and ASTs continued to cause problems in Europe. Unusual events included blooms of Lingulodinium polyedra in Portugal which resulted in preventative beach closures. Fish kills in Murcia, Spain due to anoxia/mucilage formation after heavy rainfall events. In France, the majority of shellfish closures were recorded in Southern Brittany and associated with DSTs. PSTs were recorded above the regulatory limit in a new region in Ireland for the first time. Human illness was recorded in the UK after consumption of shellfish containing DSTs. An unusual bloom of Pseudochattonella resulted in mortalities of farmed Rainbow Trout in Denmark in November 2019. In Sweden, an extensive cyanobacteria bloom was recorded in the Baltic Sea. Beach closures were again enforced in Poland but these were not as extensive as in 2018. No impacts associated with harmful algae were recorded in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. New findings reported on the distribution of Ostreopsis in the Bay of Biscay, the extensive fish mortality event in Norway in 2019 caused by Chrysochromulina leadbeateri, the importance of understanding monitoring frequency in interpreting shellfish toxin monitoring data in Scotland and a study of the impacts of viruses on cyanobacteria. Investigations into the causative organism of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the ICES area are still underway. A summary of the successful Co-Clime qPCR workshop held in Germany during October 2019 was presented. Highlights from the EuroCigua project Risk Characterisation of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) in Europe were reported. EuroCigua started in 2012 and has had a number of successful deliverables which has improved management and increased awareness of CFP issues in Europe. Epidemiological surveillance protocols were developed and 23 ciguatera outbreaks from Spain, Portugal, Germany and France between 2012 and 2018 have been identified. These involved both endemic and imported fish. Gambierdiscus and/or Fukuyoa species were identified from the Canary Islands, Madeira, Selvagem, Crete and Cyprus and Gambierdiscus was identified in the Balearic Islands for the first time. The majority of strains from the Canary and Balearic Islands were found to produce CTX like toxins. The N2a Assay to identify CTX toxins was standardized and validated by LCMS-MS and successfully used to test fish in the Canary and Madeira Islands. Currently methods are being optimised to produce reference materials from fish contaminated with CTX. For the first time WGHABD shared a day with ICES-IOC WG Ballast and Other Ship Vectors (WGBOSV) and ICES WG Introduction and Transfer of Marine Organisms (WGITMO). The Arctic is a region of interest for both ICES and the scientific community. Climate change is envisaged to alter this region in terms of biological impacts as well as increasing potential for shipping. Members from the different WGs exchanged experiHARMFUL ALGAE NEWS NO. 64 / 2020 Harmful Algae News An IOC Newsletter on Toxic Algae and Algal Blooms No. 64 - June 2020 www.ioc-unesco.org/hab The IOC Taxonomic Reference List of Harmful Microalgae The creation of the IOC Taxonomic Reference List of Harmful Microalgae was first discussed 23 years ago at the Fourth Session of the ever the information presented in publications is not always easy to interpret. Toxic blooms often contain several species and studies on individual species are therefore required to determine the species responsible for the toxin production. In addition, species are sometimes difficult to identify considered this to be identical to the previously described P. mexicanum [9]. This statement makes little sense, and Loeblich et al in fact do not mention P. mexicanum in their article. Faust [8] illustrated material which resembled P. rhathymum using the radical arrangement of some of the trichocys Massive salmon mortalities during a Chrysochromulina leadbeateri bloom in Northern Norway From mid May to mid June 2019, fish farmers along the coast of Nordland and Troms, northern Norway, experienced sudden mortalities of caged salmon [1] (Fig. 1). These mortalities were assumed to be due to a blo Fish kill in numbers [2] 13 000 ton fish 7.5 mill salmon 80 mill EUR 14 companies Fig. 2. Map of Norway showing the area where the Chrysochromulina leadbeateri bloom occurred causing massive fish kills in May-June 2019 References 1. Fiskeridirektoratet 2019. https:// www.fiskeridir.no/Akvakult Mass mortality of marine invertebrates associated with the presence of yessotoxins in northern Chile Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing A) Chilean coast; B) Pabellón de Pica, Tarapacá Region C) Bahía Inglesa, Atacama Region; D) Puerto Aldea, Coquimbo Region During the austral summer of 2019, ma research is needed to determine the mechanism of action and the toxin effects on tissues and cells of the main affected species. Finally, there is a need to establish an educational plan to protect the public and avoid the consumption and commercialization of potentially toxic marine invertebrates. First Report of Heterocapsa minima (Dinophyceae) from Aotearoa/ New Zealand Small planktonic armoured dinoflagellates within the genus Heterocapsa are currently represented by 20 species with some having a world-wide distribution [1-2]. Blooms of some Heterocapsa species have been associated with fi Fig. 2. Maximum likelihood (ML) molecular phylogenetic tree of Heterocapsa minima and H. steinii strains isolated from coastal areas of New Zealand based on the LSU rDNA D1/ D2 sequences (20 sequences, 700 positions). The alignment site corresponded to the 69768 bp site of a sequence from H. steinii Yellow-green tides could become a recurrent event along the Ligurian coast (Italy) Fig. 1. A) Sestri Levante and Baia del Silenzio bay, characterized by shallow water and mixed rocky-sandy seabed containing the macrophyte, Posidonia oceanica (dark grey) and carpet-like matte (light grey) habitat. B First report of a high biomass bloom of Peridinium quadridentatum (F. Stein) Gert Hansen from the tropical Cochin estuary SW coast of India Fig. 1. Map showing the area of P. quadridentatum bloom in Cochin estuary, southwest coast of India Peridinium quadridentatum (F. Stein) Gert Hansen is a cos Table 1. Physico-chemical parameters of P. quadridentatum bloom area in Cochin Estuary Parameters Water Temperature (oC) Salinity (psu) Dissolved Oxygen (ml L-1) Nitrate (μmol L-1) Silicate (μmol L-1) Phosphate (μmol L-1) Chlorophyll a (mg m-3) 28 20 2.01 10.6 23.3 1.3 27.5 higher turbidity, lowe Are mesophotic seamounts reservoirs for potentially toxic dinoflagellates associated with Ciguatera poisoning? A case study from the SW Indian ocean (expédition La Pérouse, 2019) Fig. 1. Location map of La Pérouse seamount off La Réunion. In the western Indian Ocean, a Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CF Using Machine Learning to Observe Abundance Patterns of the Dino flagellate Noctiluca scintillans in the Western English Channel Noctiluca scintillans is a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species with a wide geographic distribution. It frequently blooms and causes negative impacts on marine ecosystems [1] References 1. Sarma VVSS et al 2019. Mar Pollut Bull 138: 428-436 2. Faust MA & RA Gulledge 2002. Contributions for the US National Herbarium 42: 1-144 3. Graham MD et al 2018. Limnol Oceanogr-Meth 16: 669-679 Author Christian Bamber, The Marine Biological Association, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB International validation and recognition of method for paralytic shellfish toxins in bivalve molluscs Food safety scientists from Cefas (UK) and Cawthron Institute (New Zealand) have led an international study over the past four years to gain international recognition for a new method to quantify pa Aotearoa/New Zealands nationally significant Cawthron Institute Culture Collection of Microalgae (CICCM) The CICCM is critical to international research projects and the 500 isolates of microalgae and cyanobacteria in the collection have been sourced from oceans, lakes and rivers in New Zealand, the The 11th EASTHAB Symposium and 4th Philippine HAB Conference The 11th EASTHAB Symposium and 4th Philippine HAB Conference were held back-to-back from December 11 13, 2019 at the Microtel Hotel, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, the Philippines. The theme was Advances in Harmful Algal Bloom Research, Monito Fig. 1. Participants in the 11th EASTHAB Symposium/4th Philippine HAB Conference Fig. 2. Department of Science and Technology secretary Fortunato dela Peña with the keynote, plenary speakers and local organizing committee leads. Left to right: Dr. Ichiro Imai, representative of the Vice Mayor of Pu The ICES-IOC Working Group on Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics 2020 Meeting The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) have collaborated closely for 26 years, stimulating research on HAB population dynamics and monit Fig. 2. Shared day between ICES-IOC WGHABD, ICES-IOC WGBOSV and ICES WGITMO ences using molecular methods as well as results from studies in Arctic areas. These studies presented data on HAB and invasive non-native species present in Arctic waters. A USA study focused on the distribution, community Typical benthic habitat with macroalgae and limestone rubble observed at ~ 60m depth on La Pérouse seamount, Indian Ocean (Photo courtesy of L. Ballesta). Eds-in-chief Beatriz Reguera, IEO, Vigo, Spain Eilen Bresnan, Marine Scotland, UK Regional Editors Caribbean: Ernesto Mancera jemancerap@unal.e