WEBINAR: Promoting Children’s Ocean Literacy to Prevent Disease in Coastal Communities

Harmful algal blooms are proliferations of algae that harm human health or the environment: Some of these produce poisons that can be ingested through seafood and may be especially harmful to children due to smaller body size.

In Alaska, there are regular blooms of Alexandrium sp. that produce the toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning, which can be lethal. Indigenous peoples and local school districts in Southeast Alaska have organized programs to teach children about harmful algal blooms and advise on some good practices to prevent poisoning.

This presentation highlights an evaluation of such a program.

What is common across coastal populations in the Mediterranean region and Alaska natives with respect to their shellfish eating habits and associated health risks?

This was discussed after the webinar on shellfish toxins and the risk of acute poisoning by coastal populations in Alaska. How does climate change would amplify such risks in the near future?

Special talk by Dr. Hugh Roland
Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Organization, School of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham