Marine Biotoxins

Location: Canada's Pacific coastal marine ecosystems (British Columbia) and Alaska

Description: This project is intended to support a biotoxin initiative in British Columbia, Canada, initiated by a workshop on October 24-25, 2016. This project can serve initially to focus on observations of unusual environmental change associated with marine biotoxins or related hazards of public health relevance.

Background: This project aims to use a OneHealth approach that integrates wildlife and environmental information with shellfish data for public health purposes.

Funding: The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is providing funding to the First Nations Health Authority to expand the LEO Network in British Columbia. This provides funding to Ocean Integrity Research to expand and coordinate this network. Contributions contributed by organizations working on biotoxins issues can thus be supported by the LEO Network.

Partners:

BC Centre for Disease Control

BCCDC Foundation for Public Health

First Nations Health Authority

Observing Guidance: Observations of events or information related to marine biotoxin issues are invited. These could be wildlife mortality events in which marine biotoxin issues are suspected. Other observations could provide summaries of monitored tissue sampling of bivalves, monitored data on harmful algal blooms, or environmental information relating to marine biotixon issues.

Source Data: Information inputs include LEO Network posts and summarized results from marine biotoxin monitoring programs or other related programs.

Outputs: Contributed data will be added to LEO regional map and to timeline trends. Contributed data will potentially be used in published reports or papers. Author attribution will be discussed.

Project Updates: Project updates may be provided in forthcoming LEO BC newsletters, and potentially through direct collaboration with project contributors.

Resources: Marine Biotoxins workshop, October 24-25, 2016