For Immediate Release:
12-3-15  

For interviews, please contact:
Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Executive Director, 941-724-4320, email barb.kirkpatrick@gcoos.org
New Plan Lays Framework for Gulf-Wide Observing and Warning System for Red Tides
GCOOS plan outlines strategies, funding priorities to help protect coastal residents and marine life from the effects of toxic blooms
The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association (GCOOS-RA) today released a new plan that, when fully implemented, will help protect humans and marine life from the negative impacts caused by harmful algal blooms, or HABs.
 
The goal of the Harmful Algal Bloom Integrated Observing System (HABIOS) Plan is to establish a sustained observing system as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) to support and enhance HAB management and monitoring and reduce and mitigate the negative impacts that HABs have on human health, marine organisms and coastal communities.
 
At normal levels, marine algae support healthy ecosystems by forming the base of the food web and producing oxygen. Most species are beneficial to the ecosystem and to humans. However, there are some algal species that produce toxins. When these species bloom, meaning they reproduce or accumulate far beyond their normal levels, their toxins can harm humans, other animals and the environment.
 
Thousands of fish were killed by a red tide along Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast during a 2002 bloom. Red tide blooms can wreak havoc on local communities dealing with tourism losses or the cost of cleanup.

HAB outbreaks in coastal U.S. waters have resulted in staggering economic losses to recreational and commercial fisheries, recreation and tourism. They've been known to send people to hospitals, cause massive fish kills, kill or sicken protected or endangered sea turtles, sea birds, dolphins and manatees and result in increased costs for coastal managers dealing with their effects.
 
"The Gulf of Mexico has multiple existing systems that monitor and forecast the development and movement of HABs," said Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of GCOOS-RA, who is also Co-Chair of the National Harmful Algal Bloom Committee. "The systems are operated by state, federal and local agencies and research universities and laboratories and they tend to operate independently of each other -- meaning that we're not taking full advantage of the capabilities we currently have Gulf wide.
 
"In the Gulf of Mexico, it's impossible to control where and when blooms will develop, how long they will last or to stop them once they develop. But by developing a comprehensive plan to better deploy the tools we currently have, know where we need to add tools, continue to develop new technologies and methods to identify the causes and effects of harmful algal blooms and develop standardized reporting methods, we can help people stay healthy and help coastal communities be better prepared for red tide impacts. That's what HABIOS will do when it's fully operational."
 
The Gulf's most well-known species of harmful algae is Karenia brevis, which causes red tides in Texas, Florida and other Gulf states and is currently impacting Florida's Panhandle and communities in Florida's central and south west coast. Climate change is also expected to increase the frequency and severity of HAB outbreaks, as well as bring outbreaks of additional harmful species, like Dinophysis. Dinophysis can cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in humans and was identified in Texas by the Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB) for the first time in 2008. It has been identified as an emerging threat.
 
This instrument, developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, maintained by Texas A & M University and housed at the University of Texas, combines high-resolution video and a flow cytometer to capture images of plankton species and identify harmful varieties. By feeding real-time data to the GCOOS data portal, the IFCB has provided an early warning for numerous toxic blooms since 2008.
 
"In Texas, this imaging tool gave us an early warning about a harmful algal bloom in 2008, allowing us to temporarily close oyster harvesting and keep affected oysters out of the marketplace," said Kirk Wiles, Manager, Seafood & Aquatic Life Group, Texas Department of State Health Services. "It's a valuable public health tool that has absolutely stopped illness outbreaks."
 
The HABIOS plan was developed following several HAB workshops attended by hundreds of stakeholders and system managers and sponsored by GCOOS and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance. During these meetings, user communities and managers identified critical deficiencies that can be improved through the development of a more comprehensive and integrated approach that will improve the ability to detect HABs more quickly and provide more accurate and timely predictions of potential impacts, which will allow coastal communities to better prepare.
 
"Harmful algal blooms can wreak havoc on coastal communities and coastal economies," said Zdenka Willis, IOOS Director. "We have limited funding nationally to develop and implement new systems to protect residents and deal with the effects of HABs on the environment. Working together under the framework laid out in the HABIOS plan, we will address this issue through collaboration, data sharing, public outreach and education among all agencies and organizations.
 
About HABIOS
The Harmful Algal Bloom Integrated Observing System Plan was developed to ensure that resource managers, decision makers and the public have the information they need where they need it and when they need it so they can manage and mitigate the environmental and public health impacts of harmful algal blooms such as red tides.
 
The plan calls for improvements in monitoring, data management, data integration and modeling capabilities to address critical gaps in the existing systems and outlines goals and specific objectives for making the needed improvements. The Plan is also a blueprint that agencies can use to better direct the limited state and federal dollars available for HAB management and response.
About GCOOS-RA 
The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association is a 501(c)3 organization responsible for developing a network of business leaders, marine scientists, resource managers, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups that combine their data to provide timely information about our oceans  - similar to the information gathered by the National Weather Service to develop weather forecasts. Visit us online at gcoos.org.

GCOOS, which includes members from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, seeks to establish a sustained observing system for the Gulf of Mexico to provide observations and products needed by users in this region for:
  • Detecting and predicting climate variability and consequences,
  • Preserving and restoring healthy marine ecosystems,
  • Ensuring human health,
  • Managing resources,
  • Facilitating safe and efficient marine transportation,
  • Enhancing national security, and
  • Predicting and mitigating against coastal hazards.

Copyright © 2015, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association. All rights reserved.