Saw a news headline in Ensenada on Sunday - something like "Varan peces Y longostas para marea roja en Erendira"... (forgive the butchery, it was
getting foggy in Hussong's)
I took that to mean that fish & lobsters were washing up on the beach at Erendira due to the red tide....
Is that so? Has anyone seen this?
NeilMinnow - 6-19-2007 at 11:38 AM
I was there for the race June 2nd. I have never seen red tide so bad. It looked like chocolate milk. I hope it doesn't make it up to pta. banda.bajabound2005 - 6-19-2007 at 11:38 AM
Lots of red tide around Ensenada though according to an article in either the Gringo Gazette or Baja Times, it was deemed harmless.DENNIS - 6-19-2007 at 11:48 AM
Not harmless BB.
I mentioned this a while back that the tuna pens lost 500 ton of captured fish to red tide around 5 or 6 years back. The tuna were enveloped by the
noxious critters and suffocated. The pens were towed out to sea and dumped. A terrible waste.
Shellfish turn poisonous when in a red tide environment.
There are other effects. Someone will probably fill us in here.woody with a view - 6-19-2007 at 11:50 AM
there was red tide yesterday as far north as cantamar +/-. then again around rosarito beach it looked as bad as i've ever seen.Minnow - 6-19-2007 at 11:54 AM
That is bad news.Slowmad - 6-19-2007 at 12:11 PM
Red tide was thick as thieves in parts of SoCal recently until the water warmed up.
Clear and blue now.
Might stick around longer in the ice water of the Erendira zone.mtgoat666 - 6-19-2007 at 12:20 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Not harmless BB.
Shellfish turn poisonous when in a red tide environment.
There are other effects. Someone will probably fill us in here.
Not all blooms are toxic in shellfish. Color can't be relied upon for determination. Check with the "authorities" if you can find such.woody with a view - 6-19-2007 at 12:22 PM
not supposed to eat shellfish during months without an "R". i have, and had no ill affects. probably just lucky....
[Edited on 6-19-2007 by woody in ob]DENNIS - 6-19-2007 at 12:26 PM
mtg -----
I live in an area where "When in doubt" is the most reliable authority.
Thanks for the clarification.
Red Tide
bajamigo - 6-19-2007 at 04:43 PM
Don't know if you'll be abe to see it in this resized photo (taken today), but the dark bands are red tide swarms. It's been pretty bad here for a
couple of days. I also noticed that Vonny's fleet, which sets out at 6 a.m. daily like clockwork, has been standing down, or at least has involved far
fewer pangas.
Anyone know how long these phenomena last?
[Edited on 6-19-2007 by bajamigo]
bajamigo - 6-19-2007 at 04:59 PM
Guess I should have mentioned that the picture was taken from Punta Banda, looking toward Ensenada.
Ate the lobster, anyway...
neilmac - 6-20-2007 at 08:10 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by bajamigo
Guess I should have mentioned that the picture was taken from Punta Banda, looking toward Ensenada.
That's how it looked from La Fonda, Saturday.
Haven't died, yet.
Neilwoody with a view - 6-20-2007 at 08:16 AM
algea blooms only affect humans in that the bi-valve feeders filter out the toxins from the water and therefore the toxins are concentrated. eat a
clam during red tides and you set yourself up for the potential. lobster was
probably frozen 3 months ago (it's out of season now) and would not bother you anyway (from an algea bloom).bajaandy - 6-20-2007 at 09:42 AM
I was also at Erendira for the race on June 2. Indeed the red tide was intense and far reaching. However, we were able to find clean water just up
the coast somewhere south of Punta San Jose on June 3. On the 4th we took a side trip out to Puerto Santo Tomas and again found clean water.
Apparently the red tide is very current dependent.
On June 6th we made a run out to the Coronado Islands were the water was beautiful blue and we caught 8 yeallowtail. On the way back to San Diego
harbor, we crossed a very large red tide only a couple of miles from the mouth of the harbor. The water was (as Minnow said) like chocolate milk. I
remember thinking that I wouldn't want to have to swim in that stuff. Later my son said it made him think that some vile creature was lurking in the
murky stuff!
Last Saturday we again fished the Islands, and the red tide was no where to be seen. Yesterday the water off South Carlsbad was warm and clean when I
paddled out for a quick surf.
Someone here will probably be able to correct me, but my understanding of a red tide is that there had been an algea bloom and that the "red" tide or
dirty water is a result of the algea now being dead.wilderone - 6-20-2007 at 02:57 PM
Toxic to marine life and humans alike:
"The red tide, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles off Tampa Bay in early January 2005, has moved nearer shore and south. It stretches
from north of Anna Maria Isle south to Venice. Haubold said there is a danger of a repeat of 2002 and 2003, when red tide killed 34 and 96 manatees,
respectively.
Although they have no data to support their contention, scientists are speculating that nutrients flushed into coastal waters by 2004's 4 hurricanes
could be responsible for the January red tide, said Cynthia Heil of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. . . .
Red tide is formed when _Karenia brevis_, microscopic algae, reproduces at an explosive rate, forming a bloom. Nutrients such as phosphorus and
nitrogen are known to fuel that explosion. Minor fish kills have been reported from the tide, but there have been no incidents of massive numbers of
dead fish being washed up on Gulf beaches, Heil said. A fisherman alerted the institute about the red tide when his bait started dying. Red tide is
known to cause breathing problems in people when the algae's toxic spores become airborne. The effects can be serious for people with breathing
problems such as asthma.
_____________
A toxic "red tide" has forced the state to shut down shellfish beds from the New Hampshire border to Cape Cod Canal. The algae plume, which state
biologists said is the worst outbreak of red tide in 12 years, comes at the start of the shellfishing season. The outbreak is the worst since 1993,
when red tide closed much of the Massachusetts coastline.
. . . Red tide occurs when temperature and sunlight combine to cause explosive growth of a particular algae, which turns the water red in the most
extreme blooms. Clams, oysters, and other shellfish that ingest the algae are poisoned and concentrate the toxin. People who eat infected shellfish
can get paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP.
___________________
The Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone is a seasonal phenomena occurring in the northern Gulf of Mexico, from the mouth of the Mississippi River to beyond
the Texas border. It is more commonly referred to as the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, because oxygen levels within the zone are too low to support
marine life. The Dead Zone was first recorded in the early 1970's. It originally occurred every two to three years, but now occurs annually. In the
summer of 1999 the Dead Zone reached its peak, encompassing 7,728 square miles.
Hypoxic conditions arise when dissolved oxygen levels in the water fall below two milligrams per liter of water, too low to sustain animal life in
the bottom strata of the ocean. The Dead Zone forms each spring as the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers empty into the Gulf, bringing nutrient rich
waters that form a layer of fresh water above the existing salt water. It lasts until late August or September when it is broken up by hurricanes or
tropical storms. The nutrients provide favorable conditions for excessive growth of algae that utilize the water’s oxygen supply for respiration and
when decomposing.
The Mississippi River Basin covers forty-one percent of the continental United States, contains forty-seven percent of the nation’s rural
population, and fifty-two percent of U.S. farms. The waste from this entire area drains into the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi River.
Included in this agricultural waste are phosphorus and nitrogen, the primary nutrient responsible for algal blooms in the Dead Zone. Nitrogen and
phosphorus were first used in fertilizers in the United States in the 1930s. Concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in the lower Mississippi have
increased proportionately to levels of use of fertilizers by agriculture since the 1960s, when fertilizer use increased by over two million metric
tons per year. Overall, nitrogen input to the Gulf from the Mississippi River Basin has increased between two and seven times over the past century.
In addition to agricultural waste, inadequately treated or untreated sewage and other urban pollution is also dumped into these waters. Nitrogen is
normally a limiting factor, meaning its restricted quantities limit plant growth and reproduction. However, excessive amounts of nitrogen lead to
eutrophication, the takeover of nutrient-rich surface water by phytoplankton or other plants. If nutrient pollution is not greatly reduced, fish and
shellfish may someday be permanently replaced by anaerobic bacteria.
The Dead Zone reappears every spring as conditions for algal blooms become more favorable. Rivers carry greater quantities of water in the spring,
along with greater quantities of dissolved nutrients, as the snow melts in northern areas and rainfall increases. Sunlight also increases in
intensity and duration during this period, accompanied by warmer weather and fewer storms, all of which encourage algal growth. Decreasing storms in
late spring and early summer result in calmer water, which prevents the bottom strata of low-oxygen water from mixing with oxygenated surface water.
Organisms living at greater depths, including most marine animals, cannot acquire necessary oxygen. This timing is especially bad, as the summer
months are a time of active reproduction by fish and benthic (bottom-dwelling) invertebrates.
__________________________
Red tides occur throughout the world, drastically affecting Scandinavian and Japanese fisheries, Caribbean and South Pacific reef fishes, and shell
fishing along U.S. coasts. Most recently, it has been implicated in the deaths of hundreds of whales, dolphins, and manatees in North American waters.
These red tides are caused by several species of marine phytoplankton, microscopic plant like cells that produce potent chemical toxins. The Florida
red tide is caused by blooms of a dinoflagellate that produce potent neurotoxins. These toxins cause extensive fish kills, contaminate shellfish and
create severe respiratory irritation to humans along the shore.
Florida red tide blooms typically begin in the Gulf of Mexico 40-80 miles offshore and move slowly southeast with the prevailing ocean currents toward
the Tampa Bay area. As the bloom progresses, the density of red tide organisms increase to several million cells in each liter of sea water, and the
effected area expands to many square miles. The result is a mass of deadly toxin containing water sweeping toward the southwest Florida coast, leaving
a wake of dead and dying fish.
As the bloom approaches the shoreline, we begin to see and feel the obvious effects: dead fish, the characteristic burning sensation of the eyes and
nose, and dry, choking cough. When the bloom is severe, fish die rapidly from the neurotoxic effects of the red tide which enter their bloodstream
through the gills. Because the fish die so quickly, these toxins do not have time to build up in their tissue. Fish exposed to lower (sub lethal)
concentrations, however, may accumulate these toxins in their body. New evidence from current research suggests that such bioaccumulation in fish
eaten by dolphins may have been a major factor in the deaths of more than 700 of these marine mammals in 1987.Minnow - 6-20-2007 at 03:07 PM
When I lived on Punta Estero it would wash up in huge mats on the beach. Around that same time one of my dogs came down with a severe ear infection,
and one a respatory infection that she never recovered from.woody with a view - 6-20-2007 at 03:10 PM
interestingly i've had a STRANGE cough for the past few weeks.....oldhippie - 6-20-2007 at 03:15 PM
I saw it at Erendira during the 500. The ocean looked like root beer. Just checked the beautiful beaches of tijuana from the window (wise cracks
appreciated) and it's blue from the white water to the islands.woody with a view - 6-20-2007 at 03:32 PM
this time of year the mexican brown trouts that flow out the river are molting, hence the blue color of the ocean........oldhippie - 6-21-2007 at 07:52 AM
woody, pretty good wise crack, but I meant the water off the Tijuana beach. The TJ river plume is to the north in front of that other country. I wish
they would take care of that.woody with a view - 6-21-2007 at 09:10 AM
Quote:
I wish they would take care of that.
yeah, i wish they'd tax those billions being sent south so my taxes won't have to build another sewage treatment plant up the river.:moon:bajabound2005 - 6-24-2007 at 10:18 PM
We are officially announcing that the Red Tide has left the Ensenada area. The water has been clear as a bell today and yesterday! HURRAY! This is in the bay, can't speak for the other areas!Minnow - 6-25-2007 at 08:59 AM
