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Winds may decide red tide outbreak

Email|Link|Comments (3) Posted by bdaley April 28, 2008 02:11 PM

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

New England's seabed has all the ingredients for a severe red tide outbreak this year – but how much it impacts the seafood industry literally depends on which way the wind blows.

Abundant seed beds of the toxic algae and heavy winter precipitation have set the stage for a bloom of the ilk that caused shellfish beds to close from the Bay of Fundy to Martha’s Vineyard in 2005. Toxins in the algae can accumulate in clams, mussels and other shellfish and cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans who eat them.

Cysts of the organism that cause red tide stand out in yellow and bright green from organic matter and sediments collected from the Gulf of Maine. (Photo by Kerry Norton, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists who are trying to develop a red tide prediction system for the seafood industry said strong spring northeast winds could drive the algae toward Southern New England and the region’s rich shellfish beds. But if southwesterly winds dominate, the algae would likely stay offshore and not impact many shellfish beds.

“Will the conditions this spring lead to an extensive bloom along the New England coast? The wind patterns of the next few weeks will determine that,’’ said Dennis McGillicuddy, a biological oceanographer with Woods Hole.

While his team is hesitant to make any official forecast until the model is more fully tested, they did find that algae seeds – or cysts – off mid-coast Maine were 30 percent higher than what was seen in the sediments just before the devastating 2005 bloom.

Their work also shows that the region’s above-average winter rain and snowfall poured fresh water and nutrients into coastal waters – perfect conditions for the dense mats of the reddish-tinged algae to flourish.

McGillicuddy and more than dozen students, technicians and biologists are leaving today for the first of four expeditions to examine this year’s bloom and study the cause of several blooms in the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank.

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3 comments so far...

red tides need to have a way found to stop them soon or the fish market could soon almost disappear in england. red tides dont just effect shellfish. they can cause human skin damage and kill the fish that breath the water

Posted by Anonymous April 28, 08 03:07 PM

Why haven't clam plates at local restaurant's come down in price since the last severe red tide? Last years red tide only lasted a few days (not a severe red tide)and was only a precautionary closure until more accurate tests could be performed. Today's prices for clam plates do not reflect a current plentiful supply of clams. Clams can also be sourced from areas outside of New England. I see no need to raise prices to reflect any effects of any red tide that may come. Prices are already too high!

Posted by New England Clam Plate Lover April 28, 08 07:32 PM

It is important to note that shellfish in the marketplace are safe to eat, even when there is a red tide event. Our monitoring mechanisms and systematic closures of contaminated areas do a good job of protecting public health. Press reports of Red Tides will needlessly cause many thousands of people to stop eating shellfish, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses for local shellfish producers. Any article on Red Tide needs to point out that shellfish in the marketplace are safe to eat!

Posted by Bob Rheault ECSGA.org April 30, 08 10:35 AM