The Red Tide
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Drew
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The Red Tide
What is this Red Tide that the talk has been off, and why is it detroying the Fishing on the West side?
2015 Lure: Pollack, Herring, Whiting, Sand Goby, Poor Cod, Pouting
42 Species to beat 2011 & 2014
42 Species to beat 2011 & 2014
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Irish_Shamrock
A red tide doesn't affect fish, it's an algae in the water andf it only affects shellfish. I suppose this may have a knock-on effect on the food-chain and eventually have some sort of an impact on the fishing, but I don't think it's to blame for poor fishing.
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/redtide.htm
RED TIDE:
Not every plant poisoning is caused by a large, terrestrial plant. Several microscopic marine algae are notoriously poisonous to hapless humans who consume them in shellfish.
These Algae are tiny, single-celled plants that, like plants on land, capture and use the sun's energy to grow. The growth of algae is an essential life process, as it is the first step in transferring solar energy into aquatic food webs. The huge variety of marine algae are typically subject to annual cycles of growth & decay. These organisms thrive and multiply principally during the spring and summer, in response to increased light intensity and favourable levels of salinity & nutrients in ocean water. During the growth period, or bloom, each single algae cell may replicate itself one million times in two to three weeks.
During the reproductive riot of the bloom, warm, shallow seawater tends to become discoloured by the sheer concentration of algae seeking the sunlight. This discolouration is a result of the various pigments the plants use to trap sunlight; depending on the species of algae present, the water may reflect pink, violet, orange, yellow, blue, green, brown, or red. Since red is the most common pigment, the phenomenon has come to be called Red Tide.
Most species contributing to algal blooms are harmless, BUT (another big but!) some species are poisonous to animals which feed upon them directly or indirectly. Some of the toxins these species produce are seriously toxic. Often, the algae themselves are unaffected, as are the filter feeders, especially shellfish, for whom micro-algae are the principal diet. However, to carnivores further up the food chain, including humans, these toxins are potentially FATAL.
As in the case of poisonous fungi, scientific knowledge of poisonous algae is incomplete; indeed, new and alarming toxic algae are still coming to light. In Nova Scotia, however, three different algae are known to cause three, distinct, severe to deadly poisonings:
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/redtide.htm
RED TIDE:
Not every plant poisoning is caused by a large, terrestrial plant. Several microscopic marine algae are notoriously poisonous to hapless humans who consume them in shellfish.
These Algae are tiny, single-celled plants that, like plants on land, capture and use the sun's energy to grow. The growth of algae is an essential life process, as it is the first step in transferring solar energy into aquatic food webs. The huge variety of marine algae are typically subject to annual cycles of growth & decay. These organisms thrive and multiply principally during the spring and summer, in response to increased light intensity and favourable levels of salinity & nutrients in ocean water. During the growth period, or bloom, each single algae cell may replicate itself one million times in two to three weeks.
During the reproductive riot of the bloom, warm, shallow seawater tends to become discoloured by the sheer concentration of algae seeking the sunlight. This discolouration is a result of the various pigments the plants use to trap sunlight; depending on the species of algae present, the water may reflect pink, violet, orange, yellow, blue, green, brown, or red. Since red is the most common pigment, the phenomenon has come to be called Red Tide.
Most species contributing to algal blooms are harmless, BUT (another big but!) some species are poisonous to animals which feed upon them directly or indirectly. Some of the toxins these species produce are seriously toxic. Often, the algae themselves are unaffected, as are the filter feeders, especially shellfish, for whom micro-algae are the principal diet. However, to carnivores further up the food chain, including humans, these toxins are potentially FATAL.
As in the case of poisonous fungi, scientific knowledge of poisonous algae is incomplete; indeed, new and alarming toxic algae are still coming to light. In Nova Scotia, however, three different algae are known to cause three, distinct, severe to deadly poisonings:
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blowin
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Does anyone know whether the tide is still about in the Sligo area ? I think it is , but not as bad as a few weeks ago The official website never seems to be updated for this area.
A commercial winkle picker said all was OK but , then , he'd seemingly never heard of red tides or phyto(?)whatsits anyway . The , er , good news is that his catch was due to be exported to France !
A commercial winkle picker said all was OK but , then , he'd seemingly never heard of red tides or phyto(?)whatsits anyway . The , er , good news is that his catch was due to be exported to France !
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k
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