Algae Archives - Page 2 of 3

Norway’s deadly algae bloom may be waning, government says

June 3, 2019 — A deadly algae bloom that has killed nearly eight million Atlantic salmon being farmed in northern Norway appears to be dispersing, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

The bloom, first reported in mid-May, has killed 3.8 million farmed salmon in the Nordland area, the equivalent of 6,400 metric tons, and four million salmon in Troms, or 6,820 metric tons, according to Norway’s Fiskeridirektoratet. Affected companies include Ballangen Sjøfarm, Ellingsen Seafood, Mortenlaks, and Nordlaks in Nordland and South Rollerfish, Northern Lights Salmon, Kleiva Fish Farm, Gratanglaks, Nordlaks, and Salaks in Troms.

“It may seem that blooming is on the way down. Generally lower numbers of algae are recorded, the cells are smaller in size and there are observations suggesting that the bloom/species is less harmful,” the directorate wrote in a 2 June update. “As reported in recent days, there have been high concentrations of algae without causing fish to die. It may happen that the algae bloom up again in smaller areas.”

Many salmon-farming companies in northern Norway have transferred their fish to locations less likely to be affected by the algae bloom. Cermaq, Nordlaks, Ellingsen Seafood, and Nordnorsk Stamfisk have moved fish and broodstock out of Nordland, while Lerøy had issued a notice that it was considering moving fish out of Troms, but delayed its decision as local water conditions improved.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Millions of Salmon in Norway Killed by Algae Bloom

May 24, 2019 — About eight million farmed salmon have suffocated in northern Norway over the past week as a result of persistent algae bloom, an industry body estimated on Thursday, a blight that some experts suggest has been aggravated by climate change.

Norway is a dominant producer of farmed salmon, and the economic impact of the bloom is significant.

A statement from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries estimated the amount of salmon lost at 11,600 metric tons, worth about 720 million kroner, or more than $82 million. An industry group, the Norwegian Seafood Council, suggested the total could be much higher.

“Preliminary numbers point to eight million dead fish — corresponding to 40,000 metric tons of salmon that won’t reach markets,” Dag Sorli, a spokesman for the council, said in an email on Thursday. He put the value of the losses at 2.2 billion kroner.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Algae bloom in northern Norway resulting in salmon mortalities

May 20, 2019 — The aquaculture sector in northern Norway is being hit hard by an algae bloom, according to a 16 May statement from Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries.

The algae bloom is affecting the waters between Nordland and south of Troms, an area of about 450 kilometers of coastline.

“Dead fish are registered at some sites, some hit harder than others. This is a serious situation and a significant number of fish have died,” the statement said.

The directorate did not supply a list of the companies or farms affected or the amount of mortalities reported. It said it would report a mortality figure “when such an overview is available.”

The operators of aquaculture sites in the area “are in close dialogue” with the directorate and “are continuously implementing necessary measures.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

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

FLORIDA: Where did all the lobsters and stone crabs go? How the fishing industry is bouncing back

December 7, 2018 — The red tide algae bloom plaguing Southwest Florida hasn’t hit the Florida Keys. And Hurricane Irma happened more than a year ago.

But they’re both affecting the island chain’s commercial fishing industry.

That’s a crucial impact because the industry is the second-largest stand-alone economic generator in the Keys next to tourism. Fishing is estimated by the Florida Keys Commercial Fishing Association to bring in about $900 million a year to the Monroe County economy. That includes transactions such as fuel sales, dockage fees, and boat and engine repairs.

Read the full story at The Miami Herald

Senate Panel Told Nation’s Algae Woes Will Worsen If Not Addressed

August 29, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The spread of toxic algal blooms in the nation’s waterways – largely caused by a combination of warming water, contaminant run off and “supercharged bacteria” – won’t stop anytime soon, one scientist told lawmakers Tuesday.

During a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee hearing, scientist Donald Anderson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, told lawmakers that after 40 years of study on toxic blooms, he is convinced that the outbreaks will only persist and worsen if left unaddressed.

The blooms vary greatly in composition and color; some are red, some green, and others gold.

In freshwater, the blooms are typically caused when simple algae collides with cynobacteria, or blue-green algae.

While some algae growth can be beneficial and the exact causes for emergent blooms vary in both fresh and marine water, Anderson said, it is climate change which will “almost certainly” continue to influence the pervasiveness of dangerous algal build up.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

Network seeks to bring together data on harmful algal blooms

February 6, 2018 — A group of scientists is coming together to share information related to harmful algal blooms in Alaska.

Under the umbrella of the Alaska Ocean Observation System, part of the national ocean observation system network, a partnership of state agencies, Alaska Native organizations and the University of Alaska has launched the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network. The intent is to stitch together a statewide approach to researching, monitoring, responding to and spreading information about harmful algal blooms in the state.

Algal blooms are natural processes in the ocean and occur when the population of algae in a certain area increases dramatically. However, they can turn toxic when certain types of algae proliferate and produce chemicals that can be harmful to other plants, animals and people, or consume all the oxygen in the water as they decay. The events, called harmful algal blooms, occur all over the planet, in both freshwater and the ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve been seeing more and more of these bloom events happening,” said Ginny Eckert, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Juneau and co-chair of the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network’s executive committee. “It’s always a question: Are we seeing more because we’re paying attention more? But … the more information we can get out to people, (the better).”

Harmful algal blooms can have devastating consequences. In 2014, nearly 500,000 Ohio residents had to go without clean drinking water because of harmful algal blooms near a water treatment plant in Lake Erie. A harmful algal bloom in a lake that flowed into the ocean near Monterey Bay, California in 2007 is thought to have killed 11 sea otters with infections of microcystin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year in Alaska, a number of alerts go out to shellfish gatherers to be careful because some of the clams, oysters and mussels may have high levels of a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, a fatal condition in humans.

Read the full at the Peninsula Clarion

NOAA Awards $1.7M For Harmful Algal Bloom Research To Protect Public Health From Toxins In Shellfish

Multi-year awards to focus on bloom prevention in seven states

September 20, 2017 — NOAA has announced nine research grants will go to organizations around the country seeking to better understand and measure the toxicity of harmful algal blooms, known as HABs.

In the first year, $1.68M will fund research for projects in Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia. The grants are administered by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.

NOAA funding enhances state and regional monitoring with advanced harmful algae detection capabilities, including shellfish toxin tests. (Credit: Washington State Department of Ecology Marine Monitoring Unit)

Grant recipients will conduct research to identify conditions that increase a bloom’s toxicity; model toxin movement from the water into shellfish, fish and marine mammals; and improve toxin monitoring and forecasts. The dense scum, strong odors and toxins produced by HABs can contaminate drinking water, trigger fisheries closures and disrupt tourism.

Read the full story at Water Online

Why This Year’s ‘Dead Zone’ in Gulf of Mexico Is Bigger Than Ever

August 7, 2017 — Right now, in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, lies an area the size of New Jersey that’s so oxygen-deprived it’s void of almost all marine life.

The so-called “dead zone” isn’t a new phenomenon: It appears in the Gulf, and other bodies of water, every summer. But what makes this year’s Gulf dead zone unique is its magnitude: At 8,776 square miles, it’s the largest ever since tracking began in 1985, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this week.

Its size is projected to affect local fishing economies and is raising questions over the amount of pollutants that flow into our water — particularly nutrients from excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers.

“It’s a symptom of an ecosystem that’s not functioning,” said Dr. Nancy Rabalais, a professor in oceanography and coastal science at Louisiana State University who has been leading survey missions of dead zones since NOAA started tracking them.

What causes dead zones

The dead zones occur as a result of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing into water from farmers using nutrients on crops as fertilizer, and those nutrients getting washed into streams and rivers by rain.

Once it gets to the Gulf of Mexico, the nutrients stimulate the growth of algae. The algae then sinks to the bottom of the ocean and bacteria start decomposing the organic matter in the algae. That process uses oxygen, drawing it from the water.

Read the full story at NBC News

MASSACHUSETTS: Climate change causes 4 degree rise in Buzzards Bay

January 22, 2016 — Climate change has caused a four-degree rise in water temperature and a decline in water quality over the past two decades in Buzzards Bay, according to a study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

“We have seen a widespread and rapid increase in water temperature from 1992 to 2013 and this agrees with other regional studies so we are fairly confident that this is related to climate change,” said Jenny Rheuban, a research associate at WHOI and lead author of the study.

The study — which involved data collected by more than 1,000 trained citizen scientists involved with the coalition over 22 years — also revealed an increase in algae growth, a cause of poor water quality.

“Algae like phytoplankton are the reason that when you go to the beach the water is murkier and not as clear as you’d like,” said Rachel Jakuba, science director for the Buzzards Bay Coalition and co-author of the study.

The levels of chlorophyll, an indicator of phytoplankton or algae, in the water nearly doubled, according to the study, despite the fact that nitrogen levels remained relatively constant.

Read the full story at New Bedford Standard- Times