An overview of management and monitoring of harmful algal blooms in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (Hormuzgan Province)

Abstract

Algal bloom as a common phenomenon in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman had catastrophic effects on environmental, social, economic, and human health aspects from 2008 to 2009. Since 2008, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman Ecological Research Institute (PGSOERI) has monitored and managed algal blooms in the Hormuzgan coast along the northern Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Management strategies have included regular monitoring of chlorophyll, water quality, and remote sensing. In this regard, relevant departments and the Regional Organization for Protection of Marine Environment (ROPME) collaborated with each other to prevent and forecast algal blooms. We reviewed historical and current monitoring, mitigation, and management systems of algal blooms in the Hormuzgan coast. In addition, complications and challenges of algal bloom monitoring and management were also discussed. Documenting algal bloom monitoring and research, improving forecasting and modeling of blooms, educating the public and fishermen, developing a cooperative monitoring framework, and controlling pollution input entering the ROPME region are the main challenges of algal bloom management in the Hormuzgan coast.

Keywords: Cochlodinium polykrikoides; Harmful algal blooms; Margalefidinium polykrikoides; Persian Gulf; ROPME.