#toxicalgae — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #toxicalgae, aggregated by home.social.
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#Phytoplankton found in #CascoBay can harm aquatic life
#MainePublic | By Molly Enking
Published September 9, 2026"The Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring an algal bloom in Casco Bay that it says can be toxic to aquatic life, but not humans.
"The phytoplankton can turn the water brown and give off an odor, which was detected in Portland Harbor on Sunday, according to a social media post by the city Harbormaster.
"The first known outbreak of the same bacteria in Casco Bay was in 2017, which led to die-offs of shellfish and lobster.
"It is not yet clear whether fisheries are at risk during this outbreak; the DMR says it will continue to test and monitor waters, from Portland Harbor to Harpswell."
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026-09-09/phytoplakton-found-in-casco-bay-can-harm-aquatic-life
#Maine #MaineNews #CascoBay #ToxicAlgae #MarineLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #ClimateDiaryMaine #MPBN #KareniaMikimotoi
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I had a bad feeling that this summer would be the last time I would have fried clams...
Dead clams, worms reported amid #CascoBay #AlgalBloom
Story by Griffin Stockford, 9/9/2026
"Dead and dying clams and worms, brown water, and a strong odor of decay have been reported along parts of the Harpswell coast as the Maine Department of Marine Resources monitors a widespread algal bloom in Casco Bay.
"Clam harvesters in #HarpswellME began reporting the unusual conditions, prompting the town's harbormaster to ask coastal residents and harvesters to document what they see and provide photographs, descriptions, and exact locations.
"The Maine Department of Marine Resources has also confirmed it is monitoring a bloom of the commonly occurring phytoplankton #KareniaMikimotoi.
"The bloom has been observed from Portland Harbor to Middle Bay, with additional reports from waters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to DMR. Phytoplankton counts in Portland reached 2 million cells per liter, according to officials.
"DMR staff and members of the public have reported brown discoloration of the water and an accompanying odor.
"Early reports indicate clam deaths in Middle Bay and #MaquoitBay may be related to the bloom, according to DMR.
"The agency said Karenia mikimotoi is not a threat to human health, unlike some other harmful algal blooms that can produce toxins associated with shellfish poisoning. However, the phytoplankton can have harmful effects on marine organisms.
"The species can produce compounds that potentially affect fish and shellfish. #FishKills and other marine mortality events have been reported during blooms of Karenia mikimotoi in locations including #HongKong, #Australia, #Ireland, #Japan, #Korea and #Alaska."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dead-clams-worms-reported-amid-casco-bay-algal-bloom/ar-AA2bSmQt#Maine #MaineNews #CascoBay #ToxicAlgae #MarineLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #ClimateDiaryMaine
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#Algal #Toxins emerge as a new concern in #Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea
Locals who depend on the sea for food and culture are trying to understand the risks to traditional foods and wildlife populations in a region undergoing myriad changes
by Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon, May 31, 2026 via #ICTNews
Excerpt: "For countless generations, people of the #BeringStrait region have relied on the food they harvest from the sea without worrying about #HarmfulAlgalBlooms [#HABs] that threaten seafood eaters in warmer and more southern latitudes.
"Now, as the Northern Bering Sea undergoes cascading effects of a warming climate, algal risks pose a new challenge.
"The change has been dramatic.
"And it has prompted a change in the way #Nome youth grow up learning about collecting food from the waters around their home. In early April, Nome high school students traveled to Bethel with their science teacher, where they presented their research at the Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference held by Alaska Sea Grant.
"Algal toxins were present, at very low but detectable levels, in fish they eat.
"Sophomore Audrey Bruner-Alvanna was among the group of student researchers. She said young people are concerned about algal blooms, which proliferate in warmer conditions, and their potential effects on wild food resources.
" 'Because, you know, as the climate changes, as the world gets warmer and stuff, there’s going to be more of these toxins and stuff during summer,' she said. 'I feel like a lot of people that I’ve talked to have been wondering about how our subsistence is going to change in the future based on all of that.'
"The student research came about after one of the nation’s densest and biggest concentrations of toxin-producing Alexandrium algae ever documented burst forth in the waters of the Bering Strait region in 2022.
"Until the appearance of the 'massive bloom, the most toxic bloom, the longest-persisting bloom in the U.S.,' local people barely knew what harmful algal blooms or #Alexandrium are, said Emma Pate, president of the Nome Eskimo Community, the local tribal government.
" 'So we had to figure things out and learn really fast,' Pate said during an October 'Strait Science' presentation hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Nome campus."
Read more:
https://ictnews.org/news/algal-toxins-emerge-as-a-new-concern-in-alaskas-northern-bering-sea/#ClimateChange #ToxicAlgae #UniversityOfAlaska #TraditionalFoodSources #NativeAlaskans #WarmingOceans #AlexandriumAlgae
