Harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie’s Western Basin are expected to be mild this summer for the first time since 2007, scientists said Thursday.
Scientists expect to see one-tenth of the amount of algae that grew on the lake last year, which was one of the worst on record, said Rick Stumpf, oceanographer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.
“This is great news for us,” said Jeff Reutter, director of Ohio Sea Grant College Program and Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s been able to provide any good news.”
He expects the lack of harmful blue-green algae, which can release toxins that can make people and pets sick, to help the local tourism industry, including charter captains and other local businesses that depend on the lake. Put-in-Bay alone has 800,000 visitors a year, he said.