HABMAP:CALIFORNIA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM

MONTORING and ALERT PROGRAM

Meredith HowardSouthern California Coastal Water Research

ProjectUniversity of Southern California

Goals of the Regional Workshop for HABs in California Coastal Waters

• Assess feasibility of creating a statewide HAB alert network

• Facilitate information exchange among CA HAB community

• Identify the HAB-related research and monitoring programs in CA

• Identify major impediments to integrating programs and creating a HAB network

Recommendations and Outcomes of the HAB Workshop

• HAB alert network would be valuable for researchers and end users

• Compatibility among datasets and methods is main impediment

• Establish HABMAP• Initiate interactive tools, such as e-

mail list serve• Intercalibration study of methods

Technologies and Methodologies For the Detection of Harmful Algae

• National design workshop sponsored by ACT, CICEET and Florida FWC

• Review current state of technologies and methodologies for toxin detection and quantification of harmful algae species

• West coast regional study to take place in Spring 2009 in Monterey Bay

Desirable Attributes of an Integrated Statewide Network

Benefits to a Coordinated Statewide Network

• Provides context for interpretation of local or regional data

• Improved communication with end user communities

• Improved ability to understand long-term trends in HABs and factors controlling them

• Opportunity to increase interaction between the CA OOS’

Next Steps for HABMAP

• Determine the design elements needed for a statewide network

• Assess interest of the Ocean Protection Council • Seek collaboration and integration with the

OOS’ (hopefully)