Red tide in China – 06/18/2004

  • September 30, 2013 at 11:35 pm #528
    Mike
    Keymaster

    http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040616035941.059j9p6z.html

    BEIJING (AFP) Jun 16, 2004
    Two massive red tides of algae have engulfed China’s Bohai Sea,
    threatening to contaminate seafood in the important fishery area,
    state media reported Wednesday.
    One of the tides began on Friday near the mouth of the Yellow River,
    the second longest river in China, affecting an area of 1,850 square
    kilometers (740 square miles), the State Oceanic Administration (SOA)
    said.

    Another red tide was first spotted Saturday near Tianjin, a major
    port city in north China, covering an area of 3,200 square kilometers.

    “A large number of remains of mosquitoes and flies could be seen
    floating on the surface of the affected water, but there is no sign
    of massive deaths of shellfish,” said Chen Lianzeng, deputy director
    of SOA.

    “The red tides are continuing and could expand in the coming days,”
    he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

    SOA issued an urgent circular urging localities around Bohai to
    closely monitor the tides and ensure that all shellfish and other
    seafood is toxin-free before being sent to market.

    A “red tide” is a densely populated algae bloom that breeds in
    abundance and suffocates fish by sapping the water of oxygen while
    also producing toxins that can paralyze fish and contaminate seafood.

    The algae mainly feasts on urban pollution, industrial discharges,
    farming wastes and fertilizer run-off that are rich in nitrogen and
    phosphorus and which flow into coastal waters from rivers and streams.

    China’s coastal regions have been ravaged by springtime red tides in
    recent years, especially in the northern Bohai Sea, the East China
    Sea and the South China Sea near the mouth of the Pearl River.

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