Impacts of harmful algal blooms on the aquaculture industry: Chile as a case study

• DOI: 10.1127/pip/2019/0081
• Publication Date: 2019-02-19T09:34:13Z
• Authors: Patricio A. Díaz; Gonzalo Álvarez; Daniel Varela; Iván Pérez-Santos; Manuel Díaz; Carlos Molinet; Miriam Seguel; Alejandra Aguiler...; Leonardo Guzmán; Eduardo Uribe; José Rengel; Cristina Hernández; Cristian Segura; Rosa I. Figueroa
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; Medio Marino y Protección Ambiental; Shellfish aquaculture; ASP outbreaks; Centro Oceanográfico de A Coruña; PSP outbreaks; 6. Clean water; 03 medical and health sciences; Socio-economic impacts; 13. Climate action; 14. Life underwater; Chile; HAB-causing species; DSP outbreaks

Sí<br/>Harmful algal blooms (HABs) of toxin-producing microalgae, mainly Alexandrium catenella, Dinophysis spp., and Pseudonitzschia australis, cause the severe illnesses referred to as paralytic, diarrheic, and amnesic shellfish poisoning. They therefore threaten the sustainable exploitation of bivalves, including in northern and southern Chile, sites of intensive shellfish aquaculture but also recurrent HABs. Exceptionally large blooms of the genera Pseudochattonella and Karenia recently occurred in the Patagonian fjords, leading to high fish mortalities (up to 40 000 t) and thus to very negative impacts on the salmon farming industry. The resulting economic losses were estimated to be US$800M. Here we examine past, present, and possible future trends of the main HAB-causative species in Chile, with the objective of improving risk assessments of shellfish poisoning and other hazardous events in the region and elsewhere<br/>