Cleanup crews were dispatched to beaches in Hancock County, Mississippi, on December 27th to remove over a thousand dead fish and the remains of other animals.
Scientists attributed the fish kill to a “red tide” algae bloom that took hold in early December. It won’t go away until temperatures drop and fresh water from the north spilling out from the Mississippi moves through the area.
”Red tides produce neurotoxins that affect not only marine life, but humans who can breathe it in when it is aerosolized by wave action,” Jennifer Hecker, director of natural resource policy for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, wrote on a social media post about the fish kill. “Some scientists believe exposure can contribute to human nervous disorders such as Parkinson’s…not just an eyesore.”
Although red tides are a natural occurrence along the Gulf Coast, they don’t occur in the winter. The record-breaking temperatures and less than average rainfall have created favorable conditions for the red tide.
Read more - http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/12/31/record-breaking-2015-temperatures-connected-ongoing-fish-kill-mississippi-beaches
No comments:
Post a Comment