Summary

Description

Recent increases in harmful algal bloom (HAB) events have caused damage to fisheries and disturbance of ecosystems in the Pacific Rim. With 70% of world fisheries products trade increasing, HAB events will undoubtedly greatly interfere with sustainable development of coastal fisheries and trade of fisheries products of the Pacific countries, including Japan. This will be a particularly egregious problem for developing countries, where the fisheries and marine tourism occupy a large portion of their national economics. As the first step to minimize the impact and expansion of harmful organisms and lower the occurrence of fisheries damage, it is essential to establish monitoring programs that will recognize the expansion of harmful organisms, and to establish a free exchange of this information in the Pacific Rim. Currently, research and monitoring of HABs is insufficient to guarantee seafood safety, and classification and/or identification of the organisms for use in a monitoring program is not common in developing countries in particular. The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) HAB Section is comprised of experts on harmful algal blooms from member countries, and has recently initiated activities that aim at development of international programs for collection of HAB data and exchange of related information through cooperation among northern Pacific countries. These efforts can easily be expanded to other international organizations. This project will also establish monitoring programs in developing nations to monitor levels of toxins in seafood and seawater. The sharing of such information will ensure the security of imported fisheries products, and will protect the coastal environment and ecosystems of Japan and other importing nations. No actual data will be generated from this project, only documents summarizing the activities in the target countries