Crappy Translation but yes Red Tide...not good. Astute observation Roberto!
It covers 80 kilometers of red tide in the Sea of Cortez; would last up to three months
A red tide that extends over more than 80 kilometers on the north coast of the Sea of Cortez has killed thousands of birds and hundreds of marine mammals, said Ernesto Garcia Mendoza, who described this extraordinary phenomenon occurred since on 3 January.
Researcher Department of Biological Oceanography Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE) explained that the red tide could last up to three months. It is an event that has no precedent scientific, healthcare and fisheries in the last 20 years in California, he said.
The phenomenon has attracted the attention of the international scientific community by mass poisoning that causes paralytic marine species and their impact on the marine ecosystem.
The specialist explained that this phenomenon is due to the reproduction of generating microscopic algae Phytotoxins the PSP type, which have already killed humans in other regions of Mexico.
The Laboratory also responsible services, monitoring and research on phytotoxins associated with HAB (Ficotox) reported that red tide has caused havoc among various species.
In a 700-meter beach found 340 dead birds.
Know the total number, but we know high death rates from Puerto Peñasco to San Felipe, a stretch of about 80 kilometers, explained García, who went to the disaster site accompanied by 10 scientific and technical Cicese for fieldwork.
They also killed an unspecified number of sea lions and dolphins, which consume large quantities of sardines and anchovies. On Monday a dead adult dolphin was found in good condition for testing.
The January 15 passed the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) warned of the death of 550 birds and four sea lions in San Felipe, Baja California, because of the red tide.
An estimated 90 percent of the dead birds are diving ducks. They found in their waste remains of what appear to be sardines or anchovies contaminated with PSP fitotoxina present in the phytoplankton.
Garcia asked the Profepa and the Directorate for Protection against Health Risks Institute of Public Health Services of Baja California, which decreed ban the capture and commercialization of bivalve molluscs and other species like marine performing chemical analysis of brain, lung, contained stomach, liver and heart of the mammal. We exclude the presence of other toxins in dead animals, said Garcia, who has ruled whales affected so far.
On the causes of the phenomenon, which has strained four growers export geoduck fishermen and coastal San Felipe (Mexicali), the scientist said there are three hypotheses: the increasing pollution of the ocean, sea physicochemical changes phenomena Spherical weather as El Niño and La Niña, and one or more landslides caused by winter rains, which dragged the sea nutrients for algae that produce the toxin.
In any case, we anticipate that it was one or more of these factors in extraordinary proportions, totally unusual, since the fitotoxina counts are well above the norm.
-What Are so high these measurements?
Twenty times the maximum limit for human consumption, which is 500 toxic cells per liter.
He stressed that the Phytotoxins remain at sea even after the disappearance of the red tide, but their levels are no longer dangerous to humans.
Generally, he said, bivalve molluscs eat, metabolized and gradually purify these compounds, but if humans consume before the end of the cycle can be poisoned.
In Mexico, he added, the only toxin that has caused human deaths is a paralyzing type: saxitoxin, as today has massive presence in the high Mar de Cortes. It is the same as between 1979 and 2002 resulted in Chiapas and Guerrero 300 poisonings and 24 deaths.
There is a positive side of the emergency: It is generating a lot of information and knowledge about these outcrops, which favors the newly created Research Network harmful algal blooms (Redfan), coordinated by Garcia Mendoza.
In this network scientists from several institutions of higher education and research on this phenomenon and its socio-economic, health and environmental impact involved.
The National Council for Science and Technology has offered an annual budget of 4.5 million dollars, and will be the basis of national research program on HAB.
