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Chilean authorities extend fishing ban due to red tide outbreak

Date: Wed 8 May 2002
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Agencia EFE 8 May 2002 [edited]

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Chilean public health officials have banned fishing and sales of seafood because of the presence of red tide off the country's southern coast. The toxin was found near Aysen, located some 1700 km (1000 miles) south of Santiago. This newest restriction extends the one imposed on 26 Mar 2002 in the nearby Puerto Montt area.

The government declared the zone a disaster area because of the deleterious economic and social impact on the fishing industry. Laboratory tests performed on 1 May 2002 by the Aysen Health Department in the area of Caleta Tortel detected the presence of the toxin found in the reddish algae and absorbed by bivalve shellfish such as mussels, clams, and oysters.

The toxin found in red tide is a severe threat to humans, and in its most serious form it can result in progressive muscular paralysis and even death due to respiratory failure.