HABs Assessments and Programs
HABs Assessments
HABs are monitored using two general approaches by scientists and resource managers: (1) monitoring impacts of HABs on (1) lower trophic level organisms like shellfish, (2) higher trophic level organisms like marine mammals, and (3) monitoring the presence of HAB species or toxins in the environment through water sampling.
The WCOA HABs indicator is focused on data linked to impacts compared to data describing the presence of HAB species or toxins in the environment because the mere presence of HAB species or toxins in water samples does not necessarily mean that a harmful impact has occurred. Water sampling serves an important purpose and helps to understand the geographic distribution of various HAB species and toxins, seasonal patterns in blooms and also serves as an indicator of increasing risk of negative impacts of HABs on the environment.
Geography: West Coast-wide, excluding Southern California.
Alignment with the West Coast Ocean Alliance HABs indicator: The California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment assesses the status and 5-year trend of domoic acid concentrations in Dungeness crab and razor clams in relation to the long-term historical average.
Geography: California.
Alignment with the West Coast Ocean Alliance HABs indicator: Please excuse our dust. This section is under construction.
Geography: California.
Alignment with the West Coast Ocean Alliance HABs indicator: Please excuse our dust. This section is under construction.
HABs Program Catalog
There are many excellent Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) monitoring programs that operate at different spatial scales and use methods different from those of the West Coast Ocean Health Dashboard HABs Indicator. Learn more below!
Photo Credits: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.