Species Identity and Life History of Hematodinium, the Causative Agent of Bitter Crab Syndrome in the NE Pacific Snow, Chionoecetes opilio, and Tanner, C. bairdi crabs, 2003-2004, NPRB Project 306

The dataset is composed of environmental and biological samples collected to develop a PCR protocol for detecting and monitoring
the parasitic dinoflagellate (Hematodinium sp.) that is the causative agent of Bitter Crab Syndrome. Environmental samples include water
and sediment samples from Southeast Alaska. Bloodsmear samples were collected in 2003 from the Gulf of Alaska and the Eastern Bering Sea
continental shelf. Blind samples for PCR development were collected from Southeast Alaska (2003), Gulf of Alaska (2003) and Eastern Bering
Sea (2003, 2004), Newfoundland, Canada (2003, 2004) and British Columbia (2003). Reference samples for the PCR protocol were submitted by
colleagues from Scotland, UK (2003), Newfoundland, Canada (2003) and Maryland, USA. The data is presented in an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
The data does not contain any limitations, but is organized by the intented purpose. These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.