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NZ Gymnodinium catenatum bloom

Between May 2000 and February 2001 a bloom of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum , a species previously not known in New Zealand waters, led to the widespread contamination of shellfish with PSP toxins around the coast of the North Island. This event was the most extensive, and potentially one of the most harmful, toxic algae blooms to be documented in New Zealand to date. For your information, a short paper has been prepared which presents a chronology of the event and its consequences and a brief summary of the findings of scientific investigations that have been carried out so far.

The paper (in pdf format) can be downloaded from the "free downloads" section of the Cawthron Institute website at

http://www.cawthron.org.nz/downloads.htm

Lincoln Mackenzie