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“Climate change, pollution and increased

consumption of shellfish and fish are making

ciguatera a growing global threat”

How is Gambierdiscus emblematic of problems What will be its role in recommendations from these
caused by toxic microalgae? workshops?
Gambierdiscus are microalgae which live in or near sea and ocean These workshops brought together researchers, managers and
beds, mainly along tropical and subtropical coasts. These mi- experts from over 30 countries. Scientific recommendations in-
croalgae are particularly interesting as over 15 different species cluded optimised use of methodologies, and operational recom-
have been identified to date, some of which are nearly 1,000 times mendations included improved food and health supervision mana-
more toxic than others. Moreover, they are different depending on gement strategies at a regional and global level. IAEA could help
whether they are located in the Indian ocean, Pacific or Carib- Member States to implement some of these recommendations,
bean. But what makes them different from other toxic microalgae by reinforcing the capacities of the most affected states, such as
is certainly their impact on human health: these microalgae - mea- the small island States, through the production of reference ma-
suring just a few tens of micrometres and whose blooms cannot terials and the validation of analysis methods, by continuing re-
be seen by the naked eye - are responsible for the largest number search to better understand how toxins accumulate in organisms
of non-bacterial food poisoning cases, and at a global level. and to maximise the technical impact of its projects, by developing
strategic collaborations and synergies with other institutions and
agencies such as WHO, IOC-UNESCO and FAO. An inter-agency
How is your organisation, the International Atomic Energy global strategy on ciguatera is currently being developed.
Agency (IAEA), involved in this topic?
The IAEA’s first foray into toxic algae goes back to 1998, in res-
ponse to a request from a member state where algae toxins are a What role does climate change play in propagating
continued threat to food safety. The IAEA has continued to work ciguatera?
on this topic, responding to increased demand from its Member Toxic algae species responsible for ciguatera, like all living species,
States. The IAEA now contributes to development in over 40 have optimal growth conditions. These species were known as
countries in terms of bloom management, providing scientific and tropical or subtropical species.
technical assistance to reinforce supervision of microalgae in the However with global changes, and in particular with ocean tempe-
environment and detecting biotoxins in fish products. rature changes, these optimal conditions are found in oceans and
seas which are increasingly far from the tropics. Toxic microalgae
responsible for ciguatera have been found in the Canary Islands
What skills does your agency bring? and Madeira, where cases of food poisoning caused by locally
Nuclear and isotopic techniques are powerful tools to assess caught fish have been recently declared.
contamination rates, study their sources, behaviour and effects.
By using laboratories with cutting-edge experimental equipment Climate change, pollution and increased consumption of shellfish
and the scientists working there, the IAEA develops research pro- and fish are making ciguatera a growing global threat.
grammes aiming to better understand the accumulation and trans-
fer of biotoxins in ecosystems through nuclear techniques. An im-
portant mission for the IAEA is also to train new researchers in this
field, so we regularly host students and interns. These projects are
part of the IAEA sector 2 programme “IAEA nuclear techniques to
develop and protect the environment”. They therefore contribute
to reaching sustainable development objectives.