25 / 2024-08-24 16:57:59

Alleviating the impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms in Malaysia

biotoxins, climate change, eutrophication, harmful microalgae, paralytic shellfish poisoning

Session 12 - Alleviating the impact of emerging Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) to coastal ecosystems and seafood safety for a sustainable and healthy Ocean

The frequent occurrences of emerging HAB events in Malaysia have often caught the relevant authorities unprepared and resulted in severe consequences. These impacts included biotoxins contamination of commercially important shellfish, human intoxication, prolonged shellfish ban, massive mortality of finfishes and shellfishes, and diminished the value of marine ecosystems for recreational and ecotourism purposes. HAB-related events are the hindering factors to the rapid growing aquaculture in marine, brackish and freshwater. In this presentation, I will cover emerging HAB species and events, as well as new discovery of novel HAB species in Malaysia. Further, I will share our understandings on the bloom dynamics of HAB species, massive fish mortality associated with HABs events, and the potential risks of other HAB species and shellfish poisoning. Our experience on the application of high-throughput next-generation sequencing and metabarcoding for HAB risk assessment will be shared. Lastly, this presentation will address the challenges in monitoring and managing HABs in the country, exploring potential strategies for improving response mechanisms to minimize the impacts.