The Pseudo-nitzschia bloom of May 2015 - Impacts on culturally and economically important fisheries of the Quinault Indian Nation
Presentation Abstract
The people of the Quinault Indian Nation have been harvesting fish and shellfish on the coast of what is now Washington State for millennia. Of particular cultural and economic importance are two species, the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, and Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister.
In the spring of 2015, the largest bloom of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia genus (PN) diatoms yet documented came ashore on the west coast of the U.S. and began impacting shellfish and other marine animals. This Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) event was concurrent with a large warm-water mass that began developing in 2014 in the Gulf of Alaska eventually extending south and joining with warm waters generated by a developing El Niño in equatorial waters. The 2015 HAB eventually extended from SE Alaska to southern California generating significant amounts of the potent neurotoxin, domoic acid.
The Quinault Nation was conducting ongoing regulated fisheries for razor clams and Dungeness crab in April, 2015 when HAB samplers including Quinault staff recorded increasing numbers of PN in surf water samples taken along the Washington coast. By May, razor clam samples were showing rapidly increasing levels of domoic acid and razor clam fisheries were closed by emergency regulation. Quinault clam diggers lost most of the month of May to domoic acid closure, generally one of the best harvest months. Closures expanded to the Dungeness crab fishery later in the summer ending harvest of this economically important species for tribal and non-tribal harvesters.
Cultural and financial impacts from these HAB closures continued through 2015 deeply impacting Quinault and other communities on the Washington coast and beyond.
Session Title
Climate Change and Culturally Important Foods, Resources, and Places in the Salish Ecosystem
Conference Track
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Algae blooms; Marine algae--Climatic factors; Climatic changes; Indians of North America--Fishing--Washington (State); Quinault Indians--Washington (State)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Washington (State)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
The Pseudo-nitzschia bloom of May 2015 - Impacts on culturally and economically important fisheries of the Quinault Indian Nation
2016SSEC
The people of the Quinault Indian Nation have been harvesting fish and shellfish on the coast of what is now Washington State for millennia. Of particular cultural and economic importance are two species, the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, and Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister.
In the spring of 2015, the largest bloom of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia genus (PN) diatoms yet documented came ashore on the west coast of the U.S. and began impacting shellfish and other marine animals. This Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) event was concurrent with a large warm-water mass that began developing in 2014 in the Gulf of Alaska eventually extending south and joining with warm waters generated by a developing El Niño in equatorial waters. The 2015 HAB eventually extended from SE Alaska to southern California generating significant amounts of the potent neurotoxin, domoic acid.
The Quinault Nation was conducting ongoing regulated fisheries for razor clams and Dungeness crab in April, 2015 when HAB samplers including Quinault staff recorded increasing numbers of PN in surf water samples taken along the Washington coast. By May, razor clam samples were showing rapidly increasing levels of domoic acid and razor clam fisheries were closed by emergency regulation. Quinault clam diggers lost most of the month of May to domoic acid closure, generally one of the best harvest months. Closures expanded to the Dungeness crab fishery later in the summer ending harvest of this economically important species for tribal and non-tribal harvesters.
Cultural and financial impacts from these HAB closures continued through 2015 deeply impacting Quinault and other communities on the Washington coast and beyond.
