The National Park Service contracted with us to pilot a Direct Pay Platform to enhance data collection by local experts to help monitor for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Bering Strait region. During 2020-2021 we will be reaching out to Bering Strait Tribes to inquire about local residents who might be interested in helping collect sea water samples that will allow our partners to understand the seasonal presence of Alexandrium which is the genus of dinoflagellates that produce a HABs that cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning or PSP. This pilot is connected to larger multiyear study by NOAA and others to understand how HABs persist in the environment with the aim of understanding impacts to subsistence species and other wildlife and hopes to inform the development of improved detection capacity in remote Alaska. This will be the first demonstration of our Direct Pay Platform which a number of agencies and researchers are seeing as a tool that can help them work more effectively with local experts in Alaskan communities.
