Seafood toxins and fish kill impacts dominated in all other regions.50% of regional HAEDAT records in the Caribbean, Benguela, Mediterranean Sea, North and South East Asia related to high phytoplankton density problems.With more limited data sets for South America, and Australia/New ZealandĪll geographic regions were impacted by multiple HAB types, but in varying proportions. The east and west coasts of North America.10% others, including Neurotoxic Shellfish Toxins (NST), Azaspiracid Shellfish Toxins (AZA), and toxic aerosolsīy region, the largest number of records came from, in order:.9% marine and brackish water cyanobacterial toxins.35% were Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST).Of the event records linked to seafood toxins: both water discoloration and mass mortality) (As well, in 11% of events, a single incident had multiple impacts, e.g. 2% caused other impacts (including foam and mucilage production).43% high phytoplankton counts and/or water discolorations with a socio-economic impact.The 9,503 events' impacts on humans break down as follows: The study found that regionally-recorded HAB events, after being corrected for higher levels of monitoring effort, have The scientists mined both the global Harmful Algae Event Database (HAEDAT), consisting of 9,503 events with one or more impacts on human society, and the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) database, containing 7 million microalgal observation records, including 289,668 toxic algal species occurrences. However, the study, 'Perceived global increase in algal blooms is attributable to intensified monitoring and emerging bloom impacts,' published in the Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment, creates the world's first baseline against which to track future shifts in the location, frequency and impacts of HABs, which differ depending on which of the 250 harmful marine algae species is involved and where, requiring assessment on a species-by-species and site-by-site basis.Ī public webinar on Global HAB Status Report will take place Tuesday at 1 PM, Paris time. A widely-stated view that HABs are on the rise throughout the world, perhaps due to climate change, isn't confirmed. The first-ever global statistical analysis examined ~9,500 HABs events over 33 years and found that the harm caused by HABs rises in step with growth of the aquaculture industry and marine exploitation and calls for more research on linkages.Ĭonducted over seven years by 109 scientists in 35 countries, the study found that reported HAB events have increased in some regions and decreased or held steady in others. An unprecedented analysis of almost 10,000 Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) events worldwide over the past 33 years was launched today by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

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