Improved understanding of Tasmanian harmful algal blooms and biotoxin events to support seafood risk management

This project was triggered by a toxic dinoflagellate bloom along the Tasmanian East coast in Oct 2012 that resulted in a $23M loss to the Tasmanian economy. A key deliverable will be development, testing, and calibration of rapid toxin screen tests ($15 each) using a platform similar to the home pregnancy test kit. This will provide an on-site tool to manage seafood harvest (e.g. avoid toxic scallop beds) and create a major cost-saving for the Tasmanian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program (TSQAP) by reducing submission of non-toxic samples for costly Sydney-based High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses (7-10d turn around). This work will limit complete closures of fisheries, significantly reduce the risk of unsafe product reaching domestic and export markets, and thereby enhance the reputation of the Australian seafood industry.