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2010-04-02 03:30:56 - Biological Hazard - USA EDIS CODE: BH-20100402-25559-USA
Date & Time: 2010-04-02 03:30:56 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of Massachusetts, Coastal areas, Not confirmed information! Description: n February, scientists predicted the possibility of a significant red tide bloom this year, based on their survey of cyst beds that harbor algae wintering over from last year’s bloom. Last month, Maine saw its first red tide-related fishery closure nearly a month ahead of closures in previous years. Thursday, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution senior scientist Donald Anderson said that some small amounts of red tide toxins, below the level where it affects human or animal health, have begun showing up in shellfish along the North Shore and in one salt pond on the Cape. Anderson said it is not clear yet whether March’s heavy rains, which wash nutrients off the land, will help feed a major red tide bloom if one develops. Northeast winds from storms also can aid a red tide outbreak by concentrating the algae along the shore, but Anderson said it was still unknown whether that was happening. Research cruises to gauge the size, location and spread of red tide blooms have not been scheduled to start until May 1. Red tide cells transported south from Maine on a southward coastal current generally go out to sea when that current takes a big turn to the east off Cape Ann. But onshore winds, or a storm, can push a red tide bloom back toward the Cape and Massachusetts Bay. Typically, if red tide does make a significant appearance in Cape waters it is not until late in the spring. There is one exception, the Nauset estuary, where there is a resident population of red tide algae. A small amount of the algae was found in Mill Pond in Orleans, which is part of the estuary, but it was below levels that would require a closure, Anderson said. Scientists at WHOI and the state Division of Marine Fisheries will get updated red tide information in the next few days as samples collected this week are processed and analyzed for signs of the toxin. Red tide algae produce toxins that accumulate in shellfish as they filter-feed. Eating contaminated shellfish in sufficient quantities can cause respiratory paralysis and, in rare cases, death. The state DMF does extensive monitoring of shellfish from now through the summer and closes areas well ahead of the point where shellfish become too toxic to eat.
The name of Hazard: Red Tide
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