Clam beds have been shut down a month earlier than usual due to red tide algae blooming. (Photo: Stock File /Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Red tide hits New England with early closures

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) issued its first clam flat closures of the season a month earlier than usual on Wednesday due to red tide warnings. Officials foresee a dismal year all along New England.

"This is extremely early; we typically don't do closures until the end of April," said Darcie Couture, director of Maine’s Biotoxin Monitoring Programme.

Couture said the unusually warm weather is helping red tide algae and other plants bloom early this year. Strong northeast winds are even thrusting the red tide into shellfish beds.

"I don't think it will be too much longer that we'll have additional closures for mussels," said Couture, Sea Coast Online reports. "It's lining up to be a very bad year."

Red tide is formed when the naturally occurring algae Alexandrium fundyense blooms and generates a toxin harmful to humans upon consumption. The alga also generates dormant cells, or cysts, that sink to the ocean bottom at the end of blooms.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducts cyst counts and has found the latest cyst patches to be "massive," Couture told.

"It extends down to Massachusetts Bay. In the coming year, there are a huge amount of cysts out there. It's a huge problem this year," she said.

On Wednesday, DMR banned the harvesting of surf and hen clams in some coastal areas such as Harpswell, plus the harvesting of mussels in Brunswick and of carnivorous snails in other areas. Surf and hen clam harvesting has been banned in York since last year due to red tide, Couture informed.

"Surf and hen clams tend to hold toxins for a long time," she explained.

Due to high bacteria counts caused by flooding, the York flats are also closed for the digging of steamer clams, said York Clam Warden David Webber.

On Thursday, he said he was awaiting state test results to find whether the flats can reopen for steamer clam harvesting last weekend. York clam flats are planned to open on Sundays through 25 April.

York opened for clamming on 1 January and has sold over 100 licenses, more than usual, he stated, as York is one of the few towns in southern Maine open to clamming due because of a limited state budget lacking in water quality inspectors.

The Maine shellfish industry has prepared for red tide closures by planning to buy them from Canada or elsewhere, Couture affirmed.

Related articles:

- Massive red tide may hit New England: scientists
- Maine requests federal aid for shellfish industry

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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