SoundHAB: Heterosigma update

[Jack Rensel]

This year is shaping up to be an intensive year for blooms of the harmful
alga Heterosigma akashiwo in Puget Sound, the Strait and possibly the coast.


 

Here I forward some information provided by Kevin Bright of American Gold
Seafoods with a few comments of my own. 

 

I ask that if you observe blooms or suspected fish or invertebrate kills
that you post to this web site.  There is no ongoing funding for
notification, it is all volunteer.   Also you should contact the State
Department of Fish and Wildlife and NOAA (Vera Trainer) if you think your
observations are particularly significant, although posting your
observations should be sufficient. 

 

We suspected this would be a hot year as the sediments are seeded from last
year with cysts and there is a large snow pack to melt off and cause
stratification in the upper water column.  Blooms will occur depending on
the weather and in particular in the past it has focused around the end of
June and beginning of July.  A similar situation occurred in 1991 after the
big bloom of 1990.   June is typically wet and cool and then July is hot and
calm and thus the alga starts reproducing successfully. 

 

As we did not receive funding for our SoundHABs research proposal, the risks
are likely higher than normal too, it never fails, get funding and blooms
don't occur, don't get funding and all hell breaks loose. 

 

Best regards,

 

Jack

 

J.E. Jack Rensel Ph.D.

Rensel Associates Aquatic Sciences

4209 234th Street N.E. 

Arlington WA 98223 USA

360-435-3285

cell: 360-631-6538

jackrensel at att.net

 

Earliest major bloom of Heterosigma in recent (recorded) Puget Sound
history:

 

May 29, 2007 Message from Kevin Bright:

 

Elevated counts of Heterosigma at Cypress Island this morning. The highest
count was 350K/L at 1.5m and 60K/L at 10m. There is some brown water to the
north of us and some reddish brown streaks mixed into it places. The worst
water looked to be coming from Bellingham Bay and north of Bellingham, in
the Cherry Point area. There was pretty sizable patch of the red water
there, and leaking streaks down to the south and west. The water looks
fairly stratified, with milky Fraser, Nooksack, Samish river water on top.
You can see green water below the prop wash of larger vessels. SPML will be
sending a boat up toward Cherry Point Wednesday for another study, but will
take water samples along the way for the Strom lab. Northeast winds, and
sunny weather the next few days. Morning big ebb (minuses), afternoon
floods. Fish are on starve, counts should stay low tonight and no morts to
date. Canadian Farms (Quatsino Sound area) lost a few fish to
Chrysochrymulina sp., over the weekend.

 

June 11, 2007 Message from R. Hodgins, Port Angeles: 

 

Heterosigma bloom in Port Angeles Harbor on Saturday afternoon at 1.1
million c/l at the farm. We ran the aeration system from 10:00 am Saturday
to 8:00 am Sunday . By Sunday afternoon all the cell counts were under
200,000 c/l .Monday morning counts at the farm site were all under 160,000
c/l ,so we will put the fish back on half ration feeding schedule. Mort
picks had been done each day over the weekend and there is no mortality to
report. 

 

 

 

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