Red Tide Fears Broaden
Shellfishing Ban
May 04, 2006 — By Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine — A partial ban on
shellfishing has been imposed along the southern Maine coast in response
to red tide concerns.
Soft shell clams have not been included so far, but officials on Tuesday
suspended the harvesting of mussels, snails, European oysters and surf
clams between the New Hampshire border and Port Clyde.
A localized closure had been issued for the Harpswell area last week.
David Townsend, director of the University of Maine's School of Marine
Sciences, said ocean currents, storm forecasts and other factors raise
troubling questions.
"We can see those current-vectors taking that offshore plume of water
where these organisms normally grow and blowing them right onto the
coastline of western Maine," Townsend said. "We don't know that (red
tide) cells are growing out there, but we do know the conditions are
such that they should be."
Red tide, or toxic algae bloom, infects shellfish and can make people
sick if they eat infected products.
A massive bloom of red tide struck the New England coast last May
following stormy weather that blew the phytoplankton from offshore
waters to the coast. At its worst, the bloom forced the closure of most
shellfish harvesting areas from Maine to Cape Cod.
The outbreak cost shellfishermen heavily in lost income.
Last year's algae bloom was the worst in New England since 1972. After
the 1972 outbreak, New England entered a 10-year stretch of intensified
red tides.
Red tide remains an annual threat in Maine and hotspots off Penobscot
and Casco bays have been alarmingly active, according to scientists.
A study this year by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Cape
Cod, Mass., showed little threat in southern New England but more cause
for concern in Maine.
Source: Associated Press
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