MERHAB 2016: Project Summaries

Institutions:  Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center, University of Strathclyde, and University of California–Santa Cruz.

Investigators:  Ryan McCabe, (Lead), Neil Banas, Parker MacCready, Barbara Hickey, Vera Trainer, Raphael Kudela

Introduction: Razor clams support tens of millions of dollars annually in coastal tourism in Oregon and Washington and are essential to Olympic coast tribal nations as a culturally and nutritionally significant food source, a means of income, and a valuable commercial commodity. Razor clams are also a key prey item for Dungeness crab. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery is the most valuable single-species fishery in the state of Washington (worth roughly $84 million annually) and the top fisheries employer in Oregon.

Some species of Pseudo-nitzschia produce domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin that can accumulate in shellfish, other invertebrates, and sometimes fish, leading to illness and death in a variety of seabirds and marine mammals. Human consumption of shellfish contaminated with domoic acid can result in amnesic shellfish poisoning, which, if not treated, can be life threatening.

Along the Washington coast, razor clams and Dungeness crabs are particularly likely to accumulate domoic acid. States and tribes close affected areas to ensure shellfish are safe to eat. While critical for public health protection, these closures disrupt the economies of coastal communities in Oregon and Washington reliant on recreational and commercial shellfish. This project will help improve fisheries regulations and support management decisions that protect our health, our seafood supply, and our ocean environment.

Rationale: The team will reinstate and improve the spring-to-autumn Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin, last generated in 2011, to provide managers with summaries of when and where coastal blooms are likely to occur. The new Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin will incorporate expert analysis and draw on the latest University of Washington LiveOcean forecast model hosted by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) and a variety of real-time observations. We will improve the phytoplankton model embedded in LiveOcean to reduce false positives in forecasts of Pseudo-nitzschia and particulate domoic acid beach events.

Approach: The team will develop a monitoring and modeling based forecast system for blooms of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia and particulate domoic acid on beaches from Cape Flattery, Washington, to Heceta Head, Oregon. The project team will support collection of particulate domoic acid in both the water and in razor clams in Oregon and integrated like data from ORHAB surf-zone and shellfish monitoring in Washington. The team will institute new, low-cost harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring for offshore HAB “hotspots” such as the Juan de Fuca Eddy and Heceta Bank through partnerships with the Makah Tribe, Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom (ORHAB) program, and the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center. The team will reinstate and improve the spring-to-autumn Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin, last generated in 2011, to provide managers with summaries of when and where coastal blooms are likely to occur. The new Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin will incorporate expert analysis and draw on the latest University of Washington LiveOcean forecast model hosted by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS) and a variety of real-time observations. Improvements to the phytoplankton model embedded in LiveOcean will reduce false positives in forecasts of Pseudo-nitzschia and particulate domoic acid beach events. Optimal means for incorporating LiveOcean transport forecasts and hindcasts into the bulletin will be determined to understand model skill and error in detail and develop a basis for semi-automation of the bulletin. Finally, the team will also explore ways to share the bulletin with managers via NANOOS.