Blooming on the horizon?
Early signs point to an algae threat that could rival the '05 season
By Beth Quimby bquimby@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
Scientists are predicting a significant bloom of toxic red tide algae in the Gulf of Maine this spring and summer, which could threaten the shellfish industry in Maine and other New England coastal states.
Clammers say red tide is less of an economic threat than shoreline pollution.
Pat Wellenbach/The Associated Press
Clammers rake for quahogs Tuesday in the New Meadows River in Brunswick. Researchers say indicators on the ocean floor suggest the Gulf of Maine could see a significant regional bloom of the toxic algae that causes red tide.
Pat Wellenbach/The Associated Press
Sea-floor sampling for the seed-like cysts of Alexandrium fundyense, the organism that causes red tide, shows a 60 percent increase compared with the substantial bloom of 2005, researchers with the Gulf of Maine toxicity project reported Wednesday.
''They cysts are the first predictor,'' said Dennis McGillicuddy, a senior scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
What scientists cannot yet predict are the weather conditions that could transport red tide to coastal and offshore clam and mussel beds.
Last year's bloom was moderate, but an unusual wind pattern in June and July, which caused heavy rains, blew algae to Maine coastal waters and triggered one of the most toxic blooms in history. Shortnose sturgeon died after feeding on contaminated clams -- it is believed to be the first time the toxic algae has killed fish along the Maine coast.
At its peak, last year's bloom closed 97 percent of Maine's inshore shellfishing areas. Heavy rains, which washed high volumes of bacteria into coastal waters, also forced widespread flat closures. The Kennebec River flats were closed for more than 80 days because of rain.
Gov. John Baldacci is still awaiting a response to his request for federal disaster relief for the state's shellfishing industry, which generates more than $50 million a year.
Darcie Couture, director of biotoxin monitoring for the Maine Department of Marine Resources and a member of the toxicity project, said no one yet knows what triggers red tide outbreaks, which occur periodically in the Gulf of Maine.
There were no problems until a major outbreak in the 1970s that persisted for the next 20 years and then waned. Red tide returned in 2003.
''We appear to be in a new phase of extreme red tide events,'' said Couture.
Toxicity project scientists, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have been studying red tide for five years and making seasonal forecasts for three years, based on the sea floor samples. They also track red tide with research vessels, buoys and computer models.
The cyst bed appears to have expanded to the south, which could mean red tide will contaminate areas such as Georges Bank and Massachusetts earlier than usual.
Red tide typically begins to show up in late April and early May along the Maine and New Hampshire coasts and then expands to the south. The toxicity increases in July and August.
The algae pose no direct threat to humans, but the toxins accumulate in filter-feeding organisms such as clams. This can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans who eat them.
The toxins are less apt to accumulate in oysters. In fact, few oyster harvesters were forced to stop fishing at all last summer, said Barb Scully, who operates the Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
Still, when red tide strikes, all shellfishermen suffer, said Scully, because consumers assume that all shellfish are dangerous during a bloom.
Clint Goodenow, a Freeport clammer and treasurer of the Maine Clammers Association, said red tide is actually less threatening to clammers' livelihoods than shoreline pollution. He said despite more toxic red tide breakouts in the past few years, monitoring by the project has greatly reduced red tide closures.
''The red tide is a pain but it doesn't kill the clams so when are you are able to go back to work the product is still there,'' he said.
Staff Writer Beth Quimby may be reached at 791-6363 or at:
bquimby@pressherald.com
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12 COMMENTS
trisailer said...
The cost of pollution.
February 25, 2010 at 7:59 AM Report abuse
bfrank said...
love the last sentence of the article. great proof-reading ! LOL
February 25, 2010 at 9:47 AM Report abuse
common_cents said...
Pollution causes red tide? Heck, I thought pollution killed off life forms and left a dead sea?....but then I'm not a tired sailer living in pristine Florida.
February 25, 2010 at 9:52 AM Report abuse
null said...
Nope...Just a hard drinking Brunswick man...
February 25, 2010 at 10:04 AM Report abuse
trisailer said...
Actually common red tide is cause but blooms of an ancient cyst that lays dormant because it is was starved of nutrients nitrogen and phophorous. It is believed that the nutrient laden runoff from farms and lawns is releasing these nasty buggers from their slumber. Another particularly nasty cyst is pfiesteria which is also being awakened apparently by nutrient pollution and causes all sorts of very nasty problems. You should come down to Florida when there is a red tide you won't be able to breath if your within a hundred yards of the beach. As for being a tired sailer living in pristine (and very cold today) Florida, isn't that what we all aspire to? If the greedy shareholders hadn't killed the paper industry I would still be there with you freezing important body parts off. Are you jealous that you made some bad decisions and are stuck in your unhappy situation? You sure sound unhappy.
February 25, 2010 at 11:46 AM Report abuse
BonusEleven said...
Red tide outbreaks date all the way back to ancient egypt, hence the name Alexandrium. I am pretty sure runoff from lawns wasn't an issue then. They say specifically in the article that they don;t know what causes it. It could simply be something that runs on a natural cycle...kind of like how the planet warms and cools regardless of human existence.
February 25, 2010 at 12:15 PM Report abuse
common_cents said...
Nutrient runoff in wet springs, especially from the est. 100,000 leaky not-so-septic systems lining the coast or the storm runoff or ag. runoff from beef farms like Wolfe Neck, which lost it's herd as a result; is still not proven. If it was you'd see one hell of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups to upgrade every leaky septic system. Florida in end of Feb...yeah; in June, July, and Aug. NEAH. ...throws empty at null for recycling, of course.
February 25, 2010 at 12:42 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
There is no one single cause of red tides and other harmful algae blooms. Scientists generally believe that coastal pollution from human sewage, agricultural runoff and other sources contribute to red tides, along with rising ocean temperatures. The key word being scientists.
February 25, 2010 at 1:40 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
Your right about the sewage common. back in '80 I worked for DEP and we were doing our summer "work" checking septic tanks on the moose river up a Moosehead by dumping floresent dye down peoples toilets. Most of the houses along the river were discharging directly into the river. We couldn't run fast enough to beat it to the river
February 25, 2010 at 1:44 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
There certainly are natural cycles that have produced red tide and other algae blooms throughout history. The problem is that these natural cycles coupled with the huge amounts of pollutants entering the water tables are causing blooms that are much larger and fatal for fish that get caught in them.
February 25, 2010 at 1:48 PM Report abuse
common_cents said...
"Red tide is a natural phenomenon not caused by human beings. When temperature, salinity, and nutrients reach certain levels, a massive increase in Karenia brevis algae occurs. No one knows the exact combination of factors that causes red tide, but some experts believe high temperatures combined with a lack of wind and rainfall are usually at the root of red tide blooms. There are no known ways that humans can control it, but many scientists around the world are studying red tide at present. It's important to remember that red tide has happened before and the Texas marine environment has always recovered." You can't blame human pollution for this.
February 25, 2010 at 6:18 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
Nice try common but I Texas DMR quotes qualify as science.
February 25, 2010 at 8:25 PM Report abuse