The 10th Shellfish Safety Science workshop will take place at the Marine Institute, Galway on Thursday 18th April 2013.

The one day event is an opportunity for anyone working in the area of Shellfish Safety including regulators, scientists as well as industry, to meet up and exchange information on the latest advances in the field.  

Irish regulatory agencies will provide updates on recent shellfish biotoxin, toxin producing algae, harmful algal blooms and shellfish microbiology. There will be presentations from research projects that are nearing completion on the toxicology and causative organism responsible for Azaspiracid shellfish poisoning which caused extensive economic hardship in 2012 and 2013.  

A new EU project using advanced satellite imagery, mathematical modelling and real time monitoring to provide short term predictions will be demonstrated, showing how this multidisciplinary approach may provide useful information on biotoxin outbreaks for shellfish producers.  

On the microbiological side, presentations on shellfish contamination from Norovirus and how the Shellfish Waters Directive aims to monitor and improve environmental conditions for shellfish cultivation will be given.   

Further information on these and other aspects of the workshop are available on the Marine Institute website at www.marine.ie

Attendance is free but registration is required by emailing maeve.gilmartin@marine.ie

The IFA Aquacuaculture's Irish Shellfish Association Conference takes place the day before the Shellfish Safety workshop on Wednesday 17th April at the Galway Bay Hotel Salthill.