Algae blooms Archives - Saving Seafood

Could the Mississippi River benefit from Chesapeake Bay’s strategy to improve water quality?

June 21, 2024 — As environmental groups and policy analysts in the Mississippi River basin seek solutions to shrink a massive “dead zone” that forms off the coast of Louisiana each year, they have looked to a regional cleanup program in the Chesapeake Bay as a model.

A key component of that effort, known as the Chesapeake Bay Program, is regulation.

For nearly 15 years, it’s included a legally enforceable, multistate pollution quota — one of a select few in the nation. This “total maximum daily load” aims to reduce the amount of nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen, that run off into the Bay’s waters.

Too much of chemicals that derive from these elements, commonly used to grow crops and fertilize lawns, can cause algae blooms and die-offs that rob waters of oxygen and suffocate aquatic life.

But the Bay program’s scientific advisers recently noted the strategy is imperfect.

After two missed deadlines to reduce nutrient runoff, and a third looming, mid-Atlantic state and federal officials are reevaluating their options.

Read the full article at The Gazette

New Study Links Red Tides and Dead Zones Off West Coast of Florida

May 4, 2022 — Researchers are closer to understanding favorable conditions for combined events

A new study found that when red tides began in early summer and continued into the fall, low oxygen areas—or dead zones— were more likely to also occur. This study by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and NOAA collaborators is the first study to link low oxygen—or hypoxia—to red tides across the west coast of Florida and offers new information to better understand the conditions favorable for combined events as they are expected to increase as Earth continues to warm.

Red tides are becoming a near annual occurrence off the west coast of Florida, which are caused by massive blooms of the algae Karenia brevis fueled in part by excess nutrients in the ocean. These algae blooms turn the ocean surface red and produce toxins that are harmful to marine mammals, sharks, seabirds and humans causing a range of issues from respiratory irritation, localized fish kills to large-scale massive mortalities to marine life. Hypoxic areas are typically referred to as ‘dead zones’.

Read the full story at Environment Coastal & Offshore

New study links red tides and dead zones off west coast of Florida

April 26, 2022 — A new study found that when red tides began in early summer and continued into the fall, low oxygen areas—or dead zones— were more likely to also occur. This study by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and NOAA collaborators is the first study to link low oxygen—or hypoxia—to red tides across the west coast of Florida and offers new information to better understand the conditions favorable for combined events as they are expected to increase as Earth continues to warm.

Red tides are becoming a near annual occurrence off the west coast of Florida, which are caused by massive blooms of the algae Karenia brevis fueled in part by excess nutrients in the ocean. These algae blooms turn the ocean surface red and produce toxins that are harmful to marine mammals, sharks, seabirds and humans causing a range of issues from respiratory irritation, localized fish kills to large-scale massive mortalities to marine life. Hypoxic areas are typically referred to as ‘dead zones’.

Read the full story at Phys.org

NOAA backs new national effort to predict, respond to algae blooms

October 22, 2019 — Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) across the nation.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will spend USD 10.2 million (EUR 9.2 million) in fiscal year 2019 to fund studies into harmful algae blooms – by now so common that they have their own shorthand name of HAB.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New national effort to predict, respond to algae blooms

October 16, 2019 — Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from NOAA across the nation.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will spend $10.2 million in fiscal year 2019 to fund studies into harmful algae blooms – by now so common that they have their own shorthand name of HAB.

About $8.4 million of that will cover the first year of new 3- to 5-year projects, and $1.78 million will go to 3-year projects already in process. Funded under existing NOAA programs, new projects will begin in Alaska, California, Chesapeake Bay, Florida, the Great Lakes, New England and the Pacific Northwest.

Florida is in line for $2.9 million of that funding, which could help state planners now scrambling to improve how monitor and manage algae outbreaks. The state was hit with severe events from 2017 to 2019 when Karenia brevis, also known as red tide, occurred throughout southwest Florida. The bloom killed fish, turtles, marine mammals, and birds. It caused cases of neurotoxic shellfish poisoning in people, and even respiratory irritation in beachgoers and waterfront residents exposed to the algae.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

International Collaboration Sheds Light on Ocean Acidification’s Impact on Shellfish

April 10, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Emilien Pousse has been fascinated by the sea since learning to scuba dive with his father. He wasn’t always as keen on computer programming.

Yet here he is, a post-doctoral researcher from France, working to calibrate a computer model that describes the energy budgets of two commercially important shellfish – oysters and surfclams.

But first, he must know more about the consequences of ocean acidification on the metabolism and shell development of these creatures. He’s in the process of conducting those experiments with shellfish experts at the NEFSC Milford Lab.

Back in France, Emilien pursued his master’s degree with a math professor who required students to learn computer modeling skills. While some students enjoyed it, initially Emilien did not. Despite this, his internship advisor convinced him to apply for a Ph.D. project in the marine ecology doctoral program at Université de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest, France, though the project also involved modeling.

After conducting experiments for his dissertation, Emilien persevered in learning computer programming and discovered the dynamic energy budget theory on which his shellfish model is based.

“Little by little, I understood computer modeling,” Emilien says. When he began to see it as a tool to understand how oysters function, learning became easier. “I needed to learn some new skills to understand computer modeling, but it allowed me to learn more about the physiological processes of oysters and other marine animals,” Emilien reflected.

Oysters are a major industry in France. In 2012, a large bloom of Alexandrium minutum, a toxic algae known to cause paralytic shellfish poisoning, caused the oyster fishery in the Bay of Brest to close for several weeks during the summer and led to considerable economic disruption.

This algal bloom inspired Emilien’s doctoral work, which focused on modeling the accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins in oysters. His dissertation was part of a multidisciplinary project, which engaged marine biologists, policy experts and researchers studying food safety.

While he was wrapping up his dissertation, a group of collaborators from the Milford Lab, led by lab director and shellfish expert Gary Wikfors, visited the university to conduct an experiment. The lab has a 25-year long (and counting) collaborative relationship with researchers in France. A colleague who had previously conducted research in Milford introduced Emilien to the group. Research chemist Shannon Meseck mentioned that she was looking for a post-doctoral researcher to work on a modeling project with shellfish, which was exactly the opportunity that Emilien had been looking for.

While driving home from that meeting, he weighed whether to apply for the job. The opportunity would mean moving thousands of miles away from home for two years. Ultimately, the excitement of coming to the United States and working with scientists in Milford won out. Emilien knew the project would allow him to grow as a researcher, flex his computer modeling skills, and expand his knowledge to understand the effects of ocean acidification. He was also excited to experience American culture and live close to New York City.

Although Emilien is currently studying the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, a native of the US East Coast, he admits his favorite oyster to eat is the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis. No matter the species, he likes to eat oysters on the half shell, with a little bit of vinegar and shallots. Emilien hopes the results of his research will help shellfish growers plan and be resilient in the face of a changing ocean.

Story originally posted by NOAA Fisheries

Chesapeake Bay health improves in 2015

May 18, 2016 — The overall health of Chesapeake Bay improved in 2015, according to scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The largest estuary in the nation scored a C (53%) in 2015, one of the three highest scores since 1986. Only 1992 and 2002 scored as high or higher, both years of major sustained droughts.

“We’d expect to see improvements after a drought year because nutrients aren’t being washed into the Bay, fueling algae blooms and poor water quality,” said Bill Dennison, Vice President for Science Applications at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “However, in 2015 stream flow was below normal, but nowhere near the drought conditions in 1992 and 2002. Thus, the high score for 2015 indicates that we’re making progress reducing what’s coming off the land.”

The overall score for the Chesapeake Bay Health Index for 2015 was 53%, compared with 50% in 2014 and 45% in 2013. There were strong improvements in many regions throughout the Bay, such as the Choptank River, Upper Eastern Shore, Lower Western Shore, and the Rappahannock River. There were no regions that had lower scores in 2015 compared to 2014. Improvements could be related to a number of factors, including several years of moderate weather, sewage treatment upgrades, use of winter cover crops by farmers, and reductions in atmospheric nitrogen deposition.

Read the full story at Science Daily

This could explain all those strange happenings in Alaska’s waters

February 16, 2016 — New research is shedding light on how far toxic algae blooms have spread in Alaska, and surprised scientists are saying this is just the beginning.

A study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest fisheries center found domoic acid and saxitoxin – algae-produced neurotoxins that are deadly in high doses — in 13 marine mammal species across Alaska, including as far north as the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Researchers say the study is just the latest piece of evidence that warming ocean temperatures are allowing these blooms to stretch into Arctic ecosystems, threatening marine life and the communities who rely on the sea to survive.

“The waters are warming, the sea ice is melting, and we are getting more light in those waters,” said Kathi Lefebvre, NOAA Fisheries research scientist. “Those conditions, without a doubt, are more favorable for algal growth. With that comes harmful algae.”

Read the full story from The Washington Post

Ciguatera fish poisoning predicted to increase with rising ocean temperatures

December 2, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A new NOAA study, published in the journal Ecological Modeling, forecasts an increase in ciguatera fish poisoning in the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Southeast Atlantic coast with predicted rising global ocean temperatures due to climate change.

Ciguatera-causing algae are abundant in the Caribbean, and ocean warming would enable some of those species to move northward, increasing its presence in the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. southeast Atlantic. Warmer temperatures could also mean larger and longer blooms of harmful algae, including those that produce ciguatoxins.

In the Caribbean, Gambierdiscus are already near the top of their preferred temperature range. Higher temperatures are likely to inhibit the growth of these cells, slightly decreasing the risk of ciguatera in the Caribbean.

“This is another example of how we can use NOAA’s observing and forecasting expertise to anticipate and prepare for environmental change and its impact on coastal communities and economies,” said Mary Erickson, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, which conducted the research. “It contributes to NOAA’s larger efforts to build a ‘climate-smart’ nation resilient to climate and weather extremes, and long-term changes.”

For this study, researchers projected water temperatures in the greater Caribbean through the year 2099, based on 11 global climate models and data from NOAA buoys in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Forecasted temperature changes were then used to project the effects of ocean warming on the growth, abundance and distribution of two groups of ciguatera-causing algae (Gambierdiscusand Fukuyoa).

People can be affected by ciguatera, the most common form of algal-induced seafood poisoning, by eating contaminated tropical marine reef fish such as grouper, snapper and barracuda. The fish can become contaminated with ciguatoxins, potent neurotoxins produced by Gambierdiscus, a microscopic algae common in the tropics.

More than 400 fish species are known to become toxic. In U.S. waters, ciguatera occurs in Hawaii, Guam, southern Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and occasionally in the Gulf of Mexico, extending around the southeast U.S. coast as far north as North Carolina. Ciguatera impedes development of fisheries resources in many regions of the world. Toxins produced by Gambierdiscus contaminate marine animals such as corals and seaweeds, and the carnivores that feed upon them, causing toxins to move into the food chain.

“Contaminated fish have no specific taste, color, or smell and there is no easy method for measuring ciguatoxins,” said Steve Kibler, a NOAA scientist and the study’s lead author. “However, we can forecast risk based on where and when we are likely to find the algae that produce ciguatoxins.” The forecast will allow communities to target monitoring, saving resources by focusing only on areas and times when ciguatera is likely to be present.

Color micrograph of Gambierdiscus carolinianus, an algae species widely distributed in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the southeast Atlantic coast that produces ciguatoxins. Ciguatera, the most common form of algal induced seafood poisoning, is contracted from the human consumption of tropical marine reef fish contaminated with ciguatoxins.(Credit: NOAA).

This work is part of a larger NOAA effort to develop and implement practical, affordable, and sustainable strategies for managing the risk of ciguatera. Next steps include determining which species are producing the toxins and developing and transferring monitoring technology to managers and researchers in tropical countries around the world.

The ciguatera forecast is part of a NOAA ecological forecasting initiative that aims to deliver accurate, relevant, timely and reliable ecological forecasts directly to coastal resource managers and the public as part of its stewardship and scientific mandates for coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources.

This research was conducted by scientists from NOAA, North Carolina State University, and Ocean Tester LLC.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science delivers ecosystem science solutions to facilitate stewardship of the nation’s coastal and ocean resources while sustaining thriving coastal communities and economies.

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Toxin Taints Crabs and Kills Sea Mammals, Scientists Warn

November 4, 2015 — The authorities in California are advising people to avoid consumption of crabs contaminated by a natural toxin that has spread throughout the marine ecosystem off the West Coast, killing sea mammals and poisoning various other species.

Kathi A. Lefebvre, the lead research biologist at the Wildlife Algal Toxin Research and Response Network, said on Wednesday that her organization had examined about 250 animals stranded on the West Coast and had found domoic acid, a toxic chemical produced by a species of algae, in 36 animals of several species.

“We’re seeing much higher contamination in the marine food web this year in this huge geographic expanse than in the past,” Ms. Lefebvre said.

She said that the toxin had never before been found in animals stranded in Washington or Oregon, and that there were most likely greater numbers of contaminated marine mammals not being found by humans.

The California Department of Public Health recently advised people to avoid consumption of certain species of crabs because of potential toxicity. Razor clam fisheries in Washington have been closed throughout the summer for the same reason.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the California department said that “recent test results” indicated dangerous levels of domoic acid in Dungeness and rock crabs caught in California waters between Oregon and Santa Barbara, Calif.

Read the full story at The New York Times