Domoic Acid: Final Report Of The Workshop February 21-23, 1992

Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is a recently identified threat to the seafood-consuming public. It is caused by the neurotoxin domoic acid, which can be concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish as they consume smaller organisms that produce the toxin. The first incidence of a human disease caused by domoic acid in shellfish was documented in 1987 on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. A second outbreak occurred on the U.S. west coast in 1991, where domoic acid was found in birds, razor clams, and Dungeness crabs. The principal purpose of this workshop on domoic acid was to identify scientific issues that must be addressed to achieve a successful management program. Participants at the workshop included experts in toxic phytoplankton, domoic acid producing phytoplankton ecology, shellfish biology, molecular biology, and physical oceanography, as well as representatives from government agencies and industry. This report contains a summary of the workshop and a complete bibliography (through May 1993) of the literature on domoic acid and Pseudonitzschia. Grant no. NA89AA-D-SG108