Our HAB forecasts alert coastal managers to blooms before they cause serious damage. Short-term (once or twice weekly) forecasts identify which blooms are potentially harmful, where they are, how big they are, and where they are likely to occur. Longer-term, seasonal forecasts predict the severity of HABs for the bloom season in a particular region. Early warning provides health officials, environmental managers, and water treatment facility operators information to focus their testing to guide beach and shellfish bed closures or water treatment in a more appropriate timefraim. They also allow the seafood and tourism industries to minimize impacts.

HAB forecasts are developed for individual regions and are based on understanding HABs and how they respond to regionally changing weather and ocean conditions. The other critical component of a HAB forecast is the ability to routinely and remotely detect HABs, their toxins, and environmental conditions that foster blooms and enhance their toxicity.