It’s not called “Red Tide” anymore…

This coastal phenomenon still occurs but Red Tide is now referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms or HABs. The new term may not be as dramatic but it is certainly more accurate.
Scientists are moving away from the term "Red Tide" and using "Harmful Algal Blooms" or " HABs". There are a few reasons for this: red water is not always caused by blooms of toxic species. These blooms can be natural or produced by an excess of nutrients and, in extreme cases, can lower dissolved oxygen in the water but are not necessarily toxic. Most Harmful Algal Blooms in Maine are caused by dinoflagellate plankton called Alexandrium spp. which are invisible to the naked eye and monitored using filtered samples and a microscope. At MERI, the Blue Hill Bay coastal monitoring program team routinely collects water samples in two sites throughout the summer months to report Harmful algal species to the Maine DMR which uses this data to make decisions on PSP closures.
Phytoplankton can be toxic and when they accumulate in seafood the levels can be lethal. These poisoning syndromes have many names including Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) which occurs in all coastal New England states as well as New York and along the west coast from Alaska to Northern California.
MERI posts Department of Marine Resources (DMR) PSP closures on its kiosk DMR website and through the DMR shellfish hotline: 1-800-232-4733

Read our FAQ about Harmful Algal Blooms (Coming Soon)
Maine Congressman Mike Michaud has joined with several members of Congress from coastal states to introduce H.R. 2484, the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 2011. The bill would provide a research framework and action plan for addressing harmful algal blooms. Michaud was a cosponsor of a similar bill that passed the House in 2010, but the Senate never took it up. The bill is strongly supported by Maine's shellfish industry and coastal communities as well as the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

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