SoundHAB: Heterosigma blooms San Juans and Straits

[Kevin Bright]

Over the weekend Heterosigma was detected in water samples for the first of the season near Anacortes and Cypress Island. A surface sample taken from Guemes Channel near Anacortes Monday morning by an American Gold employee was in the 5,600 cells/mL range (5.6 million/Liter). Water in nearby Cap Sante marina appears to be exclusively a pure Heterosigma culture along with the adjacent Fidalgo Bay area. Dark coffee brown and reddish brick-brown water is visible in the back waters of the marina and leaking out into Fidalgo Bay as of Monday morning. Anyone wanting to start of culture of Heterosigma, here's your chance.

Weekend plankton counts at the American Gold Cypress Island site ranged from 150k/L. at 1.5 meters to 50k/L. at 5 meters of Heterosigma. Water temps jumped up Saturday afternoon on the ebb tide at the farm site from 12.2 to 14.6 which corresponded with the peak count of 150k cells per liter at 1.5 meters of Heterosigma. Several species of Dinoflagellates (Alexandrium, Noctiluca, Prorocentrum, Ceratium and Protoperidinium sp.) were also observed in Saturday's samples at the farm and from samples taken on the northeast side of Guemes Island (nearby hotspot monitoring station for blooms being transported out of Bellingham Bay and Samish Bays). Very few Diatoms are present in the water at this time. The evening flood tide pushed cooler clean water from the south of Cypress Island up Bellingham Channel. Water temperatures dropped back to 12.4 at the Deepwater Bay sites and the counts were down to 40k/L. by late Saturday afternoon.

Cypress Island
Monday Heterosigma counts;

*        40k/L at 1.5 meters at 6:00AM


*        200k/L at 1.5 meters at 3:30PM
               70k/L at 5 meters


*        700k/L at 1.5 meters at 6:00PM
               680k/L at 5 meters


*        25k/L at 1.5 meters at 9:30PM

8k/L at 5 meters


Tuesday

*        700K at 1.5 meters 7:00AM



Port Angeles reported Heterosigma showing up for the first time also in Monday morning's samples. Data from PA shows stratification of bloom. American Gold staff reported warmer water moved in over the weekend jumping from 9.8 degrees last week to 12.6 Monday morning.

Monday
Ediz Hook Site (outer PA harbor area) 700 am
1m  70,000 c/l
5m  50,000 c/l
10m 10,000 c/l
15m  0 c/l

Boat Haven (historic hotspot near marina)  800 am
1m  170,000 c/l
5m  50,000 c/l
10m 30,000 c/l
15m  0 c/l

Francis State Park (historic hotspot in Harbor) 820 am
1m  70,000 c/l
5m  20,000 c/l
10m 30,000 c/l

Morse Creek (historic hotspot monitoring station) 1100am
1m  180,000c/l
5m  30,000c/l
10m  0c/l
15m  0c/l

Ediz Hook Site (outer PA harbor area) 2:40PM
1m  140,000c/l
5m  110,00c/l
10m  50,000c/l
15m  10,000c/l

Boat Haven 3:00PM
1m  330,000c/l
5m  90,000c/l
10m  30,000c/l
15m  0

Francis st park 3:00PM
1m  290,000c/l
5m  10,000c/l
10m  0






Kevin Bright, Permit Coordinator
American Gold Seafoods
Anacortes Office: (360) 293-9448
Cell: (360) 391-2409
[http://home.icicleseafoods.com/imagelib/Logos/AGS.gif]

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