November 13, 2017 — No one knows the origin of an algae bloom that closed hundreds of miles of Maine coastline to shellfish harvesting this fall. Or why the microscopic phytoplankton responsible for it suddenly became so bountiful in the Gulf of Maine. Or even why it produces toxins in the first place.
What is known is that a toxic bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia, a common phytoplankton, caused a recall of 58,500 pounds of blue mussels in September – only the second shellfish recall in Maine’s modern history. To prevent another recall, the state is drastically reassessing its shellfish monitoring practices.
“I was confident we were going to be ahead of it. We knew a lot more, we were quicker to react to it, but we weren’t accounting for the fact that in less than a week toxins could go from barely detectable to over the (safety) limit.”
Next year, even a hint of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia in the water will trigger broad precautionary closures until the department knows shellfish are safe, an entirely new approach to biotoxin management, Kanwit said.