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Suspected toxic algae bloom threatens fish harvests. Thousands of fish are dead, could be harmful to people By Associated Press
Jan. 31 - WorldCatch News Network - Marine experts from WWF flew to the northern Kenyan coast Thursday to investigate the death of thousands of marine wildlife believed to be caused by toxic algae, the international environmental group said.
Following what WWF called an apparent "freak, off season" bloom of toxic algae, huge numbers of dead fish, including manta rays, sharks and tuna have washed up on the Kenyan shore from the border with Somalia to Lamu Island, 90 kilometers (55 miles) to the south.
Similar fish deaths have been reported along some parts of the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) Somali coast from Bossaso to the Kenyan border.
The fish deaths have prompted some fisheries to suspend operations, fearing that their catch could be poisonous, Julie Church, a WWF project leader in Kenya, said. She said laboratory tests have detected a harmful algae in the water, but that samples were being sent to experts in South Africa for further testing.
"They are looking at a bacterial infection as well," Church said. "Because of the extent of the problem, it's certainly an algal bloom, but there could be other circumstances."
A harmful algae bloom, commonly known as red tide, occurs when naturally occurring toxic, microscopic algae suddenly reproduce in a large, dense mass in the ocean, upsetting the natural balance. Small fish and shellfish consume the lethal algae, becoming toxic when larger marine wildlife eat them.
The algae blooms are often called red tide because they turn the water a reddish brown, though the blooms having nothing to do with the tides. Eating seafood that has consumed harmful algae can cause one of five types of food poisoning, some of which are life threatening depending on the algae involved. Symptoms usually begin with diarrhea, with some cases causes neurological problems.
The fishing industry along the coast, the area's main source of income, will certainly be adversely affected because there will be no market for the fish from the region, Church said. There was also a danger of illness among residents who may still be eating the fish, an important part of their diet.
A tropical ecologist for the environmental group Ecoterra International, who asked not to be named, said his agency began monitoring the fish deaths along the Somali coast since Jan. 16, and began discovering dead fish along the Kenyan coast last week.
"The majority of the reports we have are from Mogadishu to south of Lamu. We are still computing our reports, so it is difficult to give numbers of fish dead now. In a couple of days we should have rough estimates," the ecologist said.
There have been reports of people suffering from diarrhea in Somali and Kenyan coastal towns, but the Ecoterra official said it was too soon to link these cases with the algae bloom.
He said it was unlikely that the fish were dying from toxic waster being dumped off the Somali coast but warned that illicit dumping sometimes follows an algae bloom because the algae masks the effects of toxic waste.
"People who want to get rid of toxic waste look out for this situation. We have asked our observers to be on the watch out," he said.
An official from the Kenyan Fisheries Office said teams have been dispatched to investigate the fish deaths and would also be conducting tests.