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Red Tide Models,Forecasts Expanded in Gulf of Maine A new observation and modeling pro- gram focused on the southern Gulf of Maine and adjacent New England shelf waters could aid policy makers in deciding whether or not to re-open, develop, and manage offshore shellfish beds with poten- tial sustained harvesting value of more than $50 million per year. These areas are presently closed to the harvest of certain species of shellfish due to the presence of red tide toxins. Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues from seven other universi- ties or agencies began the five-year Gulf of Maine Toxicity program, or GOMTOX, on September 1. The $7.5 million dollar program is funded by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Ocean Service, Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (NOS/CSCOR) through the ECOHAB program. The new research effort expands past studies in the Gulf of Maine and builds on data collected during the historic 2005 red tide, which led to clo- sure of both nearshore shellfish beds and offshore beds in federal waters out to Georges Bank. The toxicity also extended for the first time to the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The Gulf of Maine (GoM) and its adjacent southern New England shelf is a vast region with extensive shellfish resources, large portions of which are frequently contaminated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins produced by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense. GOMTOX will utilize a combination of large-and small- scale survey cruises, autonomous gliders, moored instruments and traps, drifters, satellite imagery and numerical models. Researchers will incorporate field obser- vations into a suite of numerical models of the region for hindcasting and forecasting applications for both near shore and off- shore shellfish resources. In addition to WHOI researchers, scientists participating in GOMTOX represent Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the Canadian National Research Council, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, University of Maine, University of Massachusetts, and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 17 Science news MTR#9 (1-16).qxd 11/14/2006 11:53 AM Page 19
