Scientists are on the water off the New England coast this week gathering evidence to determine what caused an unusually large spike in Harbor seal deaths. The carcasses showed no signs of starvation, which kills many young Harbor seals this time of year once they’ve weaned. Theories abound in the media, but evidence suggests that the seals could [...]
NOAA research grants totaling $1,665,056 announced today will lead to the implementation of seasonal and weekly toxic algal bloom forecasts improving accuracy and providing better early warnings for harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine. State and local shellfish managers and the shellfish industry use these warnings to prepare for severe seasons, protect human [...]
In April 2011 scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of the toxic alga, Alexandrium fundyense, that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, threatening the New England shellfish industry. However, there are signs [...]
Scientists from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project have issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of 2011, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry. Principal investigators Don Anderson and Dennis McGillicuddy of [...]
Scientists on Friday predicted a moderate bloom of the toxic red tide in New England this summer, and they say the same water conditions that held it in check last year could suppress it again. The naturally occurring red tide algae produces a toxin that shellfish absorb, making them potentially fatal for people to eat [...]
Arctic melt water flowing into the Gulf of Maine could be the catalyst for a decrease in the toxic blooms of Alexandrium fundyense, the Gulf of Maine red tide. These toxins accumulate in shellfish and have caused widespread closures of shellfish harvesting to protect public health. The main source of nutrients in the Gulf of [...]
Maine’s red tide season appears to have ended almost as quickly as it began. And although it is too early to say for sure, one red tide researcher said this year’s abbreviated season could be an indication that Arctic melting due to climate change is already altering red tide trends in the Gulf of Maine. [...]
For the first time, NOAA weather radio transmitters broadcast warnings about high levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins in shellfish in the offshore and coastal waters of Hancock and Washington (Maine) counties in order to discourage recreational harvesting. The toxins accumulate in shellfish that consume the toxic dinoflagellate, Alexandrium fundyense; humans can become severely [...]