Algal Bloom; Cape Canaveral, Florida

Cape Canaveral, Florida | 1988-Jul-11

Initial Notification: NOAA was contacted directly on August 17th by Mr. Winkler regarding his report of red tide or of a chemical trash from New York city that looked like pieces of "red plastic, sticky on one end and smooth on the other." The materials that were reported by Mr. Winkler varied, but he stated that they were affecting his health and the health of his neighbors. NOAA advised that potential health and/or environmental impacts should be reported to local and state health officials and to state environmental officials. Mr. Winkler reported that he had made a number of these reports to State and County officials but was not satisfied with their response. After the first call, NOAA looked at the thermal images of the Gulf Stream and discussed with Mr. Winkler that Gulf Steam waters or material dumped in New York City would not be in direct contact with Bethany Bay beaches. NOAA also contacted marine laboratories and phytoplankton experts at the University of Delaware, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Laboratories at Mountlake, WA, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The names and contact numbers for phytoplankton experts at these institutions were provided to Mr. Winkler. NOAA coordinated with the State of Delaware's environmental officials on each of the "red tide" reports that we received and with our efforts in contacting expert laboratories to determine the results of Mr. Winkler's samples. On September 15th the Delaware's Director of Water Resources wrote a 4-page letter to Mr. Winkler listing the considerable efforts of the State of Delaware's Department of Water Resources to investigate each of Mr. Winkler's reports. Delaware's letter noted that samples analyzed by DNREC "reveal no Pfieseria, no significant water chemistry findings, and no presence of organisms in bloom-like conditions" and that the "water samples collected by you (Mr. Winkler) and DNREC that have been analyzed by the Florida Marine Research Institute and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have revealed no harmful species, no toxic dinoflagellate species, and no red tide cell concentrations." On September 22ed the NOAA SSC discussed Mr. Winkler's reports with the Chief of the Bethany Beach Fire Company and a member of the Bethany Beach Town Council. Both the Fire Chief and the member of the Town Council reported that there were no unusual health impact reports from swimmers using the city's beaches. On September 29th the laboratories at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington reported to DNREC that they were able to detect numbers of plankton specie named "Chattonella verruculosa" in the samples of water that were provided to them by Mr. Winkler. This plankton had previously been reported in waters as far north as North Carolina, but experts at the University of North Carolina reported that it was unusual for this species to be as far north as Delaware. This plankton did produce a brevetoxin On October 12th the State of Delaware organized a seminar to discuss the complexity of the algal booms and their potential toxicity in Mid Atlantic Ocean waters. As a result of Delaware's efforts, scientists from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina are sharing information on the algal booms reported off their coasts. It seems clear to these scientists that much of the "reds stuff in the water" sightings reported during the summer of 2000 were algal booms. The scientists reported that it is not unusual for these blooms to drift with the currents and appear or disappear from one day to the next (or even hour to hour.) The "disappearing" of the bloom is likely due to wind and other weather conditions. For example, when it is windy, the bloom, that is often concentrated near the surface, can be mixed down several feet and thus become almost invisible. If the wind subsides and the sun conditions are right, these organisms can float or swim back to the surface and again become much more visible. USCG district 7.