Irish National Phytoplankton Monitoring (Sites 41–45)

The Marine Institute in Ireland carries out a national phytoplankton monitoring programme which extends back to the late 1980s. This includes a harmful algal blooms (HABs) monitoring service that warns producers and consumers of concentrations of toxic plankton in Irish coastal waters that could contaminate shellfish or cause fish deaths. This programme is primarily located along the Atlantic seaboard and Celtic Sea. Scientists working on this monitoring programme have developed an understanding of phytoplankton populations and dynamics around the Irish coastline, especially in relation to those that cause shellfish toxicity. Particular emphasis is put on the detection and enumeration of harmful species. The importance of phytoplankton as an indicator of water quality is also studied and is a key component of the European Water Framework