Project Information

Title: Chugach Regional Ocean Monitoring Program 23220201

Project Year and Number: 2023: 23220201

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2024: 24220201 , 2022: 22220201

Principal Investigator (PI): Maile Branson (Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute/Chugach Regional Resources Commission), Willow Hetrick-Price (Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute/Chugach Regional Resources Commission)

Managing Agency: ADFG

Assisting Personnel: None

Project Website: https://www.alutiiqprideak.org/crom

Research Location: Prince William Sound, Lower Cook Inlet

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Not Specified

Abstract:

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are becoming a topic of increasing concern in coastal Alaskan ecosystems. These blooms produce dangerous biotoxins, which primarily accumulate in shellfish. Subsistence, recreational, and mariculture-based shellfish harvests are a significant source of both economic and food security across the spill-affected region, and there are currently no State operated HAB or biotoxin monitoring programs for shellfish safety in Alaska. Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) is a consortium representing seven Tribes in the prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet regions of Alaska. CRRC operates the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI), located in Seward. CRRC/APMI presently conduct monitoring for harmful algae, shellfish biotoxins, and seawater carbonate chemistry across the spill-affected region through our Chugach Regional Ocean Monitoring (CROM) program. The current CROM program works with Tribal members in each of the seven communities to conduct ecological and biochemical sampling on a weekly basis. Samples are sent to APMI for analyses and data dissemination to the public, with the ultimate goal of informing safe shellfish harvest in the region.

The proposed project will expand and improve CRRC/APMI’s existing CROM program to include more comprehensive and quantitative methods of monitoring for harmful phytoplankton species, shellfish toxins, and total seawater chemistry through a long-term monitoring effort. Final data will be utilized to provide 1) weekly reports of these findings to both Tribal members and the general public to inform safe harvest opportunities, and 2) baseline phytoplankton abundance, shellfish biotoxin, and seawater chemistry profiles across the costal Gulf of Alaska region to understand precipitating factors for HAB events. The overall goal of this project is to build regional Tribal capacity through CRRC/APMI to monitor and study harmful algae and biotoxins in native shellfish in order to support safe and sustainable harvest opportunities for both local communities and the shellfish industry in southcentral Alaska.

This project was approved for the FY22 - FY26 funding cycle.


Proposal: View (1,842 KB)

Reports:
FY23 Annual Report: View (3,425 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available

Resolutions: