Proposal title: HAB toxin accumulation, exposure risks, and impacts in alaskan arctic marine subsistence resources (ecohab-amsr) all aspects of the proposed work will be completed in direct…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution a $1.76 million cooperative agreement under the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research Coastal Ocean Program (CFDA 11.478) on June 1, 2025, to assess harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxin accumulation and exposure risks in Alaskan Arctic marine subsistence resources. The five-year project, concluding May 31, 2030, will identify subsistence food resources that accumulate paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), establish two Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) installations at Little Diomede Island and Kotzebue Sound to provide real-time monitoring of Alexandrium bloom dynamics, and conduct laboratory and field studies to quantify toxin uptake, depuration rates, and tissue distribution patterns in harvested marine species. The project will develop predictive models determining Alexandrium bloom conditions that pose harmful doses to marine mammals and result in PST accumulation above regulatory limits, with findings disseminated to coastal communities dependent on marine resources for survival.

Project execution will be conducted in direct collaboration with Alaska Native tribal governments through three primary sub-awardees. The North Slope Borough will manage post-mortem assessments of marine mammals and oversee toxin and hormone analyses under wildlife veterinarian Dr. Raphaela Stimmelmayr. University of Alaska Fairbanks will coordinate community workshops to document marine resource utilization patterns, process findings, support video documentary production, and facilitate opportunistic seafood sampling and rapid response to HAB events. Ocean & Earth Environmental Services LLC will provide grant administration, tribal representative communication, supply and travel management for Alaska-based partners, videography services, modeling and data analysis support, and community stipends for participation in project meetings and tissue sample collection activities.

Proposal title: HAB toxin accumulation, exposure risks, and impacts in alaskan arctic marine subsistence resources (ecohab-amsr) all aspects of the proposed work will be completed in direct collaboration with the tribal governments of multiple alaska native villages (see tribal resolutions). The objectives are to: 1) identify subsistence food resources utilized by coastal communities that accumulate psts, 2) establish two imaging flowcytobot (ifcb) installations capable of providing real-time estimates of alexandrium bloom and transport dynamics at key locations such as little diomede island (a site chosen due to its central location in the bering strait directly in the northern pathway for transported alexandrium blooms) and kotzebue sound at the entrance to the chukchi sea, 3) use laboratory studies and field collections to quantify uptake and depuration rates, and PST tissue distribution patterns in key species harvested for subsistence purposes to assess risks to food safety and security, 4) identify health impacts of PST exposure in marine mammals harvested for subsistence purposes, 5) develop models to determine alexandrium bloom densities, toxicities, and durations that result in harmful doses to marine mammals as well as the accumulation of psts at concentrations above seafood regulatory limits in marine resources harvested for subsistence purposes, and 6) disseminate the findings in objectives 1 - 5 broadly to coastal communities that are completely reliant on marine resources for survival.