New Hampshire’s Atlantic coastal waters have algal poisoning

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/?area=&lang=eng


New Hampshire’s Atlantic coastal waters and the waters of Hampton/Seabrook Harbor, have been closed to the taking of mussels, clams and oysters until further notice due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, commonly known as "red tide." The shellfish with elevated levels were detected in blue mussels collected from the Isles of Shoals and from Hampton/Seabrook Harbor. “Red tide toxicity levels are increasing right now, in both offshore and near-shore waters,” said Chris Nash, shellfish program manager for the Department of Environmental Services. “It is too soon to know how severe this algae bloom will be, or how long it might last.” Blue mussels collected from Hampton/Seabrook last week showed low toxin levels, but samples collected this week exhibited toxin levels above the mandatory closure threshold of 80 micrograms of toxin per 100 grams of shellfish tissue. Blue mussels from Star Island, Isles of Shoals, are also exhibiting high toxicity values. Other New Hampshire shellfish harvesting areas, including the oyster beds around Nannie Island and Adams Point in Great Bay, were temporarily closed last week because of heavy rainfall, and will remain closed until additional red tide and bacteria tests are completed.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Services and the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services/Public Health Laboratory expect to complete this week’s shellfish tissue testing by Friday, May 9, at which point a decision on whether to reopen Great Bay and Little Bay to harvesting will be made. The nature of red tide blooms varies from year to year, according to Nash. A red tide bloom in 2005 was the most widespread and toxic event on record for New Hampshire waters, while the past two years experienced less-severe events, characterized by high toxicity in the offshore Atlantic waters and lower levels of toxin along the beaches. Toxicity in Hampton/Seabrook is appearing earlier than in previous years. Red tide is a condition in which shellfish accumulate a potent neurotoxin produced by a naturally occurring marine algae. Ingesting the toxin is potentially fatal to humans, and cooking does not make contaminated shellfish safe for consumption. )
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"You can't eat the oysters in New Haven Harbor
You can't eat the oysters that live in the bay
'Cause New Haven sewage is pouring down on 'em
If I were an oyster, I'd get out today."

is any sea life left.

the algae are naturally-occuring rather than man-made. Duh. But the frequency and severity of red tides and Dead Zones and such is a direct consequence of man-made pollution with a little global warming thrown in.

nt