%0 Journal Article
%T Is Occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Exclusive Economic Zone of India on the Rise?
%A K. B. Padmakumar
%A N. R. Menon
%A V. N. Sanjeevan
%J International Journal of Oceanography
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/263946
%X Occurrence, increase in frequency, intensity and spatial coverage of harmful algal blooms during the past decade in the EEZ of India are documented here. Eighty algal blooms were recorded during the period 1998¨C2010. Of the eighty algal blooms, 31 blooms were formed by dinoflagellates, 27 by cyanobacteria, and 18 by diatoms. Three raphidophyte and one haptophyte blooms were also observed. Potentially toxic microalgae recorded from the Indian waters were Alexandrium spp., Gymnodinium spp. Dinophysis spp., Coolia monotis, Prorocentrum lima, and Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Examination of available data from the literature during the last hundred years and in situ observations during 1998¨C2010 indicates clear-cut increase in the occurrence of HABs in the Indian EEZ. 1. Introduction The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas [1] has defined phytoplankton blooms as, those, which are noticeable, particularly to general public, directly or indirectly through their effects such as visible discolouration of the waters, foam production, and fish or invertebrate mortality or toxicity to humans. Among around 5000 species of marine phytoplankton, around 300 species including diatoms, dinoflagellate, raphidophytes, prymnesiophytes, cyanophytes, and silicoflagellates can at times cause algal blooms. Only a few dozen of these species have the ability to produce potent toxins. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are global phenomenon, reported from over 30 countries including India. Number of HABs, economic losses from them, the types of resources affected, and number of toxins and toxic species have also increased dramatically in recent years [2¨C4]. The first recorded observation on algal blooms in Indian waters is by Hornell in 1908 [5]. He witnessed massive fish mortality, largely of sardines floating on the dark yellow coloured water that contained plankton. In 1916, he found Euglena and Noctiluca species to be responsible for such episodes. Subrahmanyan [6] identified this organism as Hornellia marina, and later in 1982 Hara and Chihara [7] reclassified this as the raphidophyte Chattonella marina. Since then, there have been several reports on various algal blooms dominated by blooms of Noctiluca scintillans (= N. miliaris) and Trichodesmium spp. from the EEZ of India. Episodic observations on algal blooms were reported from 1917 onwards. First record of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) was during 1981 from coastal Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra [8]. In 1981, PSP resulted in death of 3 persons and hospitalization of 85 people due to consumption of
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijocean/2012/263946/