Abstracts of oral communications from the 9th International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms held in Tasmania 7-11 February 2000.

The 9th International Conference on Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB2000) was held in Hobart (Tasmania, Australia) from 7 to 11 February 2000. The conference venue was the Wrest Point Convention Centre located on the magnificent foreshores of the Derwent River estuary. HAB2000 brought together a record number of 526 participants (473 full and 43 day registrations, including 87 students) from 47 countries. This was the first time this prestigious conference series was scheduled in the Southern Hemisphere, but this appeared not to have deterred strong participation from Europe (122), USA (77) and South East Asia (84).

A total of 130 talks and 308 posters were presented, and where parallel sessions were scheduled the plenary introductory session featured reviews covering the full range of topics. A total of 472 abstracts, organised as a searchable database, were made available via internet during the months preceding the meeting and for registered conference participants this complete conference abstract record is also included in CD-ROM format with this Proceedings volume. The scientific programme of HAB2000 focused on new algal bloom species and new toxic phenomena, new regional bloom events, ecophysiology and bloom dynamics, cysts and sediments, eutrophication, novel toxins, ecophysiology of toxin production, exotoxins, foodchain effects, population genetics, molecular probes, immunological methods, role of bacteria, and impacts on finfish and shellfish aquaculture operations. Being held in Australia, this was the first conference in this series which prominently featured problems caused by freshwater cyanobacterial blooms, including impacts of cyanotoxins on human health and aquatic foodwebs, and aspects of drinking water treatment. A special session on international algal bloom programmes and future conferences, as well as a dedicated session on algal bloom control and management were also scheduled. The opening address was presented by Dr Meryl Williams (pp.1-2), director-general of the International Commission of Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), while the closing address was given by Prof. Max Taylor (pp.3-7), to whose lifetime pioneering achievements this conference was dedicated.