National and international public policies for the management of harmful algal bloom events. A case study on the Brazilian coastal zone

• Harmful algal blooms are barely addressed by the Brazilian environmental policy.
• Review of the international experience on the issue of harmful algal blooms.
• Necessary involvement of multiple actors of research to decision making.
• Better coverage of biotic and abiotic data must accompany research.
• Regional characteristics must be taken into consideration.

The expression Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) includes toxin-producing species and those that produce biomass in sufficient quantities to significantly reduce the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water column and cause mortality events for other marine organisms. Originally a natural phenomenon, these blooms are becoming more frequent and persistent due to the impact of the anthropogenic action caused by the transport of exotic organisms through ballast water and mainly by the eutrophication of coastal waters as a consequence of the discharge of untreated domestic and industrial effluents. In order to highlight the delays of the Brazilian environmental public policy regarding the issue of HABs on its coastal zone, and what can be improved, a review of the main causes and impacts of the phenomenon is performed, as well as shown how other countries in the world have advanced on the subject. To develop an appropriate and effective policy that can provide the necessary environmental safety, multiple stakeholders are necessary in order to achieve proper procedures and limits for each region. To do so, it is important to carry a dialogue among different government levels, responsible for the reduction of pollution over the river and coastal systems. In addition, the implementation of a greater debate among the scientific community, in order to better establish legal limits that each toxin or potentially harmful species should have in different means of exposure, and the stimulation of a greater involvement of the coastal community in monitoring and alerting cases of HABs must be considered.

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