Phycotoxin-producing phytoplankton collected from water at mussel farm/aquaculture

Samples for phytoplankton analyses are collected by employees responsible for farming at musselfarms/aquaculture to monitor the presence and abundance of toxin-producing phytoplankton. These samples are submitted to SMHI on a bi-weekly basis from mussel farms/aquaculture in coastal areas off the west coast of Sweden. On each sampling occasion two samples from plankton net trawls are pooled in addition to a sample collected with a cylindrical water sampler for integrated sampling 0-10 m. The main attributes are phytoplankton (specifically phycotoxin producing) species composition, biovolumes and abundance. The sampling and data is important for monitoring potential health risks for consumers from biotoxins in the musselfarm/aquaculture processes.