Copyright 1998 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Co.
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
April 7, 1998, Tuesday, SARASOTA EDITION
SECTION: A SECTION, Pg. 14A
LENGTH: 488 words
HEADLINE: NEW FISH HORROR STORY; A TOXIC MARINE ALGAE HAS BEEN LINKED TO BLOODY LESIONS ON FISH FOUND ALONG FLORIDA'S EAST COAST.
BODY:
The latest warning that all is not well with Florida's public waters has raised red flags on the state's east coast. Mullet, sheepshead and other fish have displayed bloody lesions and gaping sores that biologists say are caused by a species of toxic algae, Cryptoperidiniopsis, that last year was found in the St. Johns River near Jacksonville. This year, infected fish have surfaced from North Palm Beach to New Smyrna, but most frequently in Martin County in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon.
As state biologists study this latest episode involving toxic marine algae, public outcry for political action is growing in Stuart and other Florida east coast communities. In response, state Rep. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, has pledged to get $ 400,000 in ''recurring'' state funds appropriated for scientific research targeting the Crypto and fish lesion episodes.
Crypto and other toxic marine algae differ significantly from the organism that causes red tides in Florida - Gymnodinium breve. G. breve, a microscopic, single-celled plankton, undergoes massive population ''blooms'' that begin far offshore. As individual cells (numbered in the millions per liter) die, their cell walls collapse and release a toxin that paralyzes fish respiratory systems. If wafted ashore by sea breezes, toxic aerosols may adversely affect people who suffer from asthma and other respiratory distress.
Crypto and another toxic algae - Pfiesteria piscicida - are similar organisms with a quite different lifestyle from G. breve. First, they apparently reside naturally in a cyst form in the sediments of nearshore bays and estu aries until stimulated by sewage or other nutrients introduced through fresh-water runoff. Second, Pfiesteria, at least, transforms into a different form which aggressively attacks fish schooling in its vicinity. Third, Pfiesteria, and possibly Crypto, can cause sores and lesions on humans that come in contact with the organism.
Thus the need for common-sense precautions if fish suffering open sores and bloody lesions are seen. They should not be caught or eaten, and people should not operate personal watercraft, swim or otherwise come in close contact with the water.
Meanwhile, state scientists are taking water samples, analyzing infected fish and attempting to determine what factors trigger Crypto's outbreaks. Circumstantial evidence suggests the episodes may be linked to massive discharges of nutrient-laced water from the Lake Okeechobee and Everglades agricultural areas into the estuaries. Lesions, for instance, have been found on bluegills in Lake Okeechobee, and a South Florida Water Management District spokesman has said: ''Every time we do these huge releases, we do see fish lesions.'' Therein may lie the moral to this latest saga involving toxic marine algae, although, until scientifically verified, that observation also remains circumstantial.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: April 8, 1998