UPDATE: To see videos of presentations from this seminar, click here.

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The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and the National Centers for Environmental Information are hosting a half-day workshop about harmful algal blooms (HABs) from 1-4:30 p.m., Thursday, June 13, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Alabama.

Sessions at the “Preparing for harmful algal blooms in coastal Alabama and Mississippi” workshop will address the concerns of natural resource managers, commercial fishers, shellfish growers and harvesters, and tourism professionals. Speakers will discuss forecasting capacity and limitations, impacts to local communities and tourism, and regulatory and legislative processes.

Attendees also will have an opportunity to review an online tool that tracks HAB activity around the Gulf of Mexico.

Sometimes referred to as a red tide, these toxic phytoplankton blooms grow quickly under the right conditions and have the potential to impact the health of marine life and humans living on nearby shores. HAB events can close fisheries and deter tourists, causing localities to take an economic hit.

A draft agenda for the workshop can be found here. View event flier here.

Registration is free and open to the public. To register, go to https://auburn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1UoGO0QhCKdtHkp.

Contact Missy Partyka with any questions at m.partyka@auburn.edu or 251-348-5436.

The NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center is located at 7344 Zeigler Boulevard, Mobile, Alabama.

Featured image: Comparing water samples – Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission’s harmful algal bloom research group continues red tide event response monitoring of the Gulf, 30 miles offshore in southwest Florida. (FWC)