El Nino at work: Toxic bloom in PatagoniaThe last six months have seen an unfolding ecological and e
El Nino at work: Toxic bloom in PatagoniaThe last six months have seen an unfolding ecological and economic catastrophe as a toxic algal bloom has struck over two thousand kilometres of Chile’s coastline ranging from the Straits of Magellan at the tip of the continent to the fishery zone around Puerto Montt and beyond, provoking mass die offs of shellfish, wildlife up the food chain and millions of farmed salmon (some 20% of the stock), as well as closing fisheries. Many fishermen have lost their livelihoods, dozens have been poisoned (with symptoms including diarrhoea, amnesia and paralysis) , and the island of Chiloe was blockaded by people protesting at what they see as an insufficient government response. The toll has been heavy, 337 sei whales dead on a Chiloe beach in June (one of the biggest strandings ever recorded), tonnes of dead fish and shellfish have washed up on beaches across the region, and foraging dogs have died from eating them.One of the first noted effects of El Nino is the stilling of the cold and nutrient rich upwelling current rising up from the depths off the South American coast, affecting fisheries across the region. On top of this the unseasonably warm waters sluicing around the coastline the algal bloom (known as a red tide) is also happening because of the unseasonably warm waters sluicing around the coastline, though human factors may well have exacerbated it. While these tides are a feature of El Nino in this ecosystem, the range and intensity of the current event is unprecedented. An investigation has been launched into whether the dumping of dead contaminated salmon at sea and the waste dumps of fish faeces associated with fish farming may have helped spread it further, and others are alleging that the excess nutrients from fish farming may have provided the energy to make it happen in the first place.-LozOther posts in this series: http://bit.ly/207KZt0http://on.fb.me/1P1BV2Ohttp://on.fb.me/1OSg0dHhttp://on.fb.me/1JEC5Lahttp://on.fb.me/1SjYm8ehttp://on.fb.me/1PuX6OQhttp://on.fb.me/1NUmrwUhttp://on.fb.me/1RT7l0Mhttp://on.fb.me/1mtXgKvhttp://bit.ly/1SBlTkPImage credit: Alvaro Vidal/AFPhttp://bit.ly/1TdMo2thttp://bit.ly/1TokMEShttp://bit.ly/1rx1fJf -- source link
#science#fish kill#weather#agonia#chile#salmon#waste