Co-Convenors: Chang-Hoon Kim (Korea) and Vera Trainer (USA)

Invited Speaker:
Daniel Huppert (University of Washington, USA)

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have adverse economic and social impacts on the aquaculture industry, human health, coastal economies, and wild fisheries. HABs have prompted routine closures of both commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting as well as contributing to the death of aquaculture finfish resulting in financial losses in coastal communities. But the economic impacts generated by these events extend far beyond the industry itself. Obtaining more realistic estimates of HAB economic impacts, and the costs of preventing and managing them, calls for an integrated assessment approach that comprises the following: the economic impact of HABs on the aquaculture industry, the secondary integrated industries, and consumers, on both local and regional scales;
some valuation of the costs and benefits of taking any recognized steps to lessen the HAB problem (e.g., reducing coastal pollution and other human-related activities); and weighing the costs and benefits of enhanced monitoring and surveillance that potentially reduces the magnitude of the impacts (e.g., by limiting shellfish harvesting closure windows or alteration in the timing of finfish harvesting). This workshop comprises 2 parts, with the first being a presentation of what is known about the economic and social impacts of HABs in the eastern and western Pacific, by both HAB researchers and invited speakers who can inform on cutting edge approaches and methodologies for assessment of HAB and other marine economic impacts (e.g., oil spills). In Part 2 participants will identify specific steps for developing improved and more comprehensive economic impact assessments of HABs on fisheries and aquaculture in the North Pacific.