Earth & Sky

Warning system speeds word of toxic algae

Razor clam dig, Copalis Beach: the early warning system allows recreational razor clam digs to proceed with confidence.

Every year in the U.S., about 25,000 people are hospitalized for cases of foodborne illness. As many as half of those cases come from bacterial pathogens found in water.

Scientists typically monitor for toxic algae by digging up shellfish and testing them in a lab. Now, scientists at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle are developing a monitoring system that can shave a few days off that process. Oceanographer Vera Trainer talked to Earth & Sky about the new program.

Vera Trainer: We’re looking at the sea water itself, monitoring for cells in the microscope, and then when a critical number of cells is reached in a particular sample, we then test the sample for toxicity using a test strip, like a pregnancy test–type strip, for the toxins present.

Trainer stressed that health departments carefully monitor nearly all seafood. But recreational fishers might not always get timely warnings of potentially toxic algae.

Vera Trainer: We have up to a week early warning, which is of incredible value to the coastal managers, whereas before, when they just monitored for toxins in shellfish, they would have to turn people away from their vacations on the beaches.

Thanks today to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Written by Jorge Salazar