Cruising Puget Sound For Toxic Algae Hot Spots

by: Ashley Ahearn, EarthFix

Every year toxic algae blooms along the Northwest coast - infecting shellfish and shutting down shellfish beds for harvest.

If people eat these poisoned shellfish they can become sick or die from what’s called Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.

The algae occur naturally but for decades the shellfish industry and public health officials have been struggling to predict where the blooms will happen.

Stephanie Moore, an expert on harmful algal blooms with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, is on a mission to find out where these algae sleep. She’s standing on the deck of the Clifford Barnes – a 65-foot research vessel heading out of Ballard Harbor in Seattle. 

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