The National Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) is a community-based network of volunteers monitoring marine and freshwater phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Formed in 2001, PMN enhances the Nation’s ability to respond to and manage the growing threat posed by HABs by collecting important data such as phytoplankton species composition, distribution, and environmental conditions. HABs have been observed in every state resulting in over $1 billion in losses to communities that rely on recreation, tourism, and seafood harvesting. In the aquaculture industry, both shellfish and finfish, have experienced direct adverse effects of harmful algal blooms, both toxin-producing species and non-toxin-producing species. For the individual aquaculture farm, blooms of certain non-toxic phytoplankton are of paramount concern because they are known to cause the mortality of shellfish and finfish worldwide. Since these species do not cause human health concerns, most are usually not included in state-wide monitoring programs.
The Aquaculture Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (AQPMN) project expands the scope of the participatory science approach of PMN to include the partnership of aquaculture farms. The AQPMN will catalog existing and new phytoplankton species responsible for finfish and shellfish injury and establish a national monitoring platform operated by aquaculture farms, empowering farms to take action to protect or harvest. This presentation will cover the methods used to monitor aquaculture sites and progress made by AQPMN to establish a national participatory science approach to monitor ichthyotoxic HABs, co-developed by the shellfish and fin fish industries.