Archive | July 2, 2015
Hundreds of thousands of mussels wash ashore, ‘something is wrong’, in Cape Town, South Africa
People have been feasting on mussels which have washed up in their hundreds of thousands on False Bay beaches in recent weeks – but authorities say it isn’t a good idea to eat them.
They cite a red tide, which has been known to contaminate shellfish, but this hasn’t stopped people collecting the delicacy by the sackload.
Local fisherman Godfrey Permall scoffed at concerns that the mussels may be toxic.
He says they wash up every winter – and when they do, he is waiting.
Permall, from Vrygrond near Muizenberg, fills around eight or nine plastic bread packets with the mussels, which he sells for R30 each.
He comes to the beach every day but it is in winter when the ocean’s bounty is most generous and helps put food on the table.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Carol Moses said harvesting would be legal with a recreational permit and providing bag limits were adhered to. Individuals can only catch 30 mussels each per day.
But she advised against eating the mussels, saying a red tide from Strandfontein to Smitswinkel Bay had persisted for much of June and the department had limited information on its toxicity.
Department of Environmental Affairs spokesperson Zolile Nqayi said that while no toxicity had been reported, anything dead for an unknown period and for unknown reasons should not be consumed.
Nqayi said the washing up of the mussels was most likely related to the big waves and rough ocean conditions experienced in False Bay.
Terry Corr, the head of education at the AfriOceans Conservation Alliance, believes eating the mussels poses a serious health risk.
He said the sheer numbers of mussels that have washed up from Strandfontein along the coast to Fish Hoek are indicative that something is wrong.
They include horse mussels, which he says are usually found far out and in depths of up to 50m.
“On Friday, sole were washing up on Fish Hoek beach, which isn’t normal. There have also been starfish.
“I was hoping officials would take samples, but there hasn’t been much happening.”
Corr said people could get extremely sick from eating the shellfish, especially if it had been affected by red tide.
He suffered shellfish poisoning two months ago from snorkelling in Simon’s Town and swimming through murky water which had a red tinge.
He doesn’t even eat shellfish but must have swallowed some water.
“I was violently sick and my face, fingers and toes went numb.”
But Moses said the washing up of the shellfish was an annual occurrence in autumn and winter due to stronger groundswells and a change in current strength and direction along the northern shores of False Bay.
Black, blue, brown and ribbed mussels initially attached to any hard surface with their byssus threads, while horse mussels were anchored deep in the sediment by their byssus threads.
Moses said that on the north shore there was limited rocky reef, so the mussels tended to anchor on to any available hard surface such as shells, plastic and nylon fishing line.
As they grew, they developed their own reef, which could only be broken free by the strongest currents and wave action and washed up on the shore, usually in winter.
“The tons of plastics and other debris washed, blown or dropped into False Bay makes it likely that mussel settlement and washout in these sandy areas is probably a lot greater in the present day than it was historically,” she added.
Emeritus Professor George Branch of the Department of Zoology at UCT said that, by chance, one of the world’s “starfish experts”, Chris Mah, was in Cape Town doing research at the Iziko Museum at the time of the “starfish washout” and had concluded that the stranding was a consequence of the heavy seas that had been experienced the week before.
With respect to the mussels, he said the safety would depend on whether there had been a toxic red tide in the area recently and how old the mussels were.
Branch said wash-ups of redbait and deep-water horse mussels were a frequent consequence of heavy seas during storms.
Courtesy of iol.co.za
Thousands of jellyfish wash up in Saint-Brevin, France
Thousands of jellyfish wash up in Saint-Brevin, France
Hundreds of dead fish washing up in the Hudson River in New York, USA
Hundreds of dead bunker fish have turned up on the banks of the Hudson River in recent weeks, and local environmentalists are alarmed.
Watchdog group Riverkeeper says it first received reports of a fish die-off in early June. At its peak, about a week ago, the watchdog group was receiving two to three reports daily of the same thing happening from Peekskill south to New York Harbor and around Long Island Sound, where thousands of the same bunker fish washed up.
John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper’s water quality program director, called the news “very upsetting.”
“We suspect the peak of the problem may have passed — we hope so,” he said in an e-mail.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation was notified and dead fish have been sent for analysis to the Cornell Aquatic Animal Health Lab. Officials say there could be a number of factors contributing to the die-off, including algae blooms.
Rockland County resident Annadora Perillo got a whiff of the dead fish on her daily walk along the Piermont Pier.
“There were literally dead fish the entire way, start to finish,” she said, adding, “It was disturbing to see such a large number.”
The Atlantic menhaden, or “bunker” fish, is a saltwater member of the herring family. Each summer, the species comes into the brackish parts of the Hudson River to spawn, according to the DEC website. They can suffocate after being chased by blue fish into shallow waters where there is less oxygen.
Courtesy of lohud.com
Tons of dead fish found in a river in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam
After the rain lasted two hours, about 2 tons of fish in which the abnormal death 7 kg weighing on nearly a kilometre long river segment in Quang Nam.
25/6, Mr. Tran Thanh four (50 years) continue to use boats to fish in the river bottom She accurately picked Rén segment Only The Township (the only district, Quang Nam). Dead fish smell concentration anonymously.
On the early morning of 22/6, he was the person who discovered series of Four fish to the surface and creates, there are signs of dying. On that day, near a ton of Tilapia, bream, carp, fish, diếc, fish climb … is he the same Four people brought ashore tennis player goes on sale.
According to him Four, have the time of dead fish floating in the River all closed. A total of almost 2 tonnes of the fish were picked up by the people. “The fish in the river bottom is dead to about 90%, the rest continue dying, children weighing up to 7 kg,” man to the fishing craft on the grid do this river says.
“There are households used boats rescued near Ta 2”, Ms. Phan Thi Eight (the only Township Into) talking and said people only sell those about to die.
The following day, the fish die-off continues but no one caught more, to draw warm stench long anonymously. To avoid contamination, the local authorities must collect Four picked up the fish he then buried.
About a few months back, the water, the river suddenly switch to black. “We have the basis to do leather waste water pouring out of the river pollution,” said the four identified.
Mr. Tran Thanh, Vice Chairman of PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE of Correspondence Only The Township, or were reported up to the room environment and resources of the district to send sample, clarified the cause of the dead fish. Prior to the time the fish die-off, there the rain lasted as long as two hours.
Courtesy of vnexpress.net
Thousands of silkworms die from ‘mysterious disease’ in Kupwara, India
Locals said the disease came to the light some two weeks ago when the farmers noticed premature death of large number of silkworms in the Kandi areas of this district.
A mysterious disease in Kandi areas of Kupwara district has killed thousands of silkworms causing losses worth lakhs of rupees to the stakeholders.
As per reports the disease which was first reported in kandi belt of Kupwara following frequent rains and hailstorms there, is spreading to adjoining areas like Tirch, Armpora, Shadipora, and Waterkhani .
Locals said the disease came to the light some two weeks ago when the farmers noticed premature death of large number of silkworms in the Kandi areas of this district.
“Thousands of silkworms have died in different Kandi areas where silkworms are raised” Muhamamd Shafi, a farmer said.
There is panic among the farmers. “The disease has left hundreds of stakeholders shattered owing to huge financial losses,” he said.
“Every year from 15 May to 20 June, silkworms develop progressively to reach a particular stage, but this time around their premature death has spelled dome for us as we are wholly and solely dependent on this trade,” Bashir Ahmad, a farmers from Nutnoosa Kandi said. The farmers fear the disease may cause sharp downfall in silk production in Kupwara district this season.
Kupwara provides favourable climatic condition for all types of mulberry silk varieties.
The farmers said: “Every year teams of Sericulture department visited here. They advised us about scientific methods of raising the silkworms and gave us tips about increasing the cocoon production. They would suggest ways to save the silkworms from any diseases and also distributed medicines. But this year hardly any team visited the area before the outbreak of the disease.”
When contacted, Sericulture Assistant Kupwara, Ghulam Muhammad confirmed to Greater Kashmir the outbreak of this unknown disease.
“This has happened for the first time here. The problem was first reported from Kandi belt , we immediately called a team of experts from Central silk research Boards Pampora and Bandipora to identify the disease that has probably been caused by a virus. The teams have visited the affected farms in Kanid area and the experts have collected samples and are analyzing them to identify the disease” he said.
“The virus may have been caused by frequent rains and hailstorm which made mulberry leaves wet and damaged them,” he said. “We have distributed lime and Vijayta dusting powder among growers to spray it in the farms,” he added.
Meanwhile, silk worm growers of the district have urged the higher authorities of Sericulture department to take proper measures to identify the disease so that it is controlled at the earliest.
More than 1500 growers in Kupwara district are connected with rearing of silkworms and they earn their livelihood by selling silk cocoons. Mulberry trees are grown in abundance in Kupwara Kandi, Handwara and other belts of the district for the production of silk cocoons.
Courtesy of greaterkashmir.com
Thousands of fish and crabs wash ashore in Mississippi, USA
It’s called a Jubilee, but it’s not very fun for fish and crabs. Humans, though, are another story. By 7:30 Wednesday morning, fish by the thousands were washing up near the Pass Christian shoreline. The vast majority of them were still alive, at least for a little while.
“We came down here to go kayak fishing, and when we got to the beach, we saw there was a red tide going on and there were flounder and crabs and all kinds of fish all over the place,” Allan Price said.
Even seagulls couldn’t resist the temptation. Why do these jubilees happen in the shallow waters of the Mississippi Sound? Joe Jewell is the Marine Fisheries Director for the Department of Marine Resources.
“When we have high temperatures, we have low oxygen in the water, and that means these events usually occur early in the morning or late in the evening when the plankton hasn’t had time to crack up and produce oxygen,” Jewell explained.
No oxygen, but plenty of fishing nets, and a little time off from the job for Chuck Johnson.
“We’re working across the street over there and we knew it was a red tide. He called up and told us, so we came over here to get some free fish. It’s very easy. All you have to do is pick them up. They just flop a little,” Johnson said.
Another one taking advantage of the moment was Chuck Carr.
“I was down here for a conference and riding along an I saw people picking up flounder and I decided I’d stop by and get me some.”
While the dozens of fishermen who showed up at this Jubilee were excited about the event, one person who wasn’t was Chuck Loftis. He’s the head of the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority, and in charge of making sure Mother Nature’s mess is cleaned up.
“The fish are still in the water, but some of them are washing ashore,” Loftis said. “We’ll wait until everything washes ashore and then we’ll take them to the local landfill.”
That job could last through the weekend. Loftis also said the Jubilee is impacting the entire 26 mile long sand beach, but the heaviest concentration of fish is located near the Pass Christian/Long Beach city line.
Courtesy of msnewsnow.com
1,000+ TONS of salmon have died off in two fish farms in Vancouver, Canada
Almost 700,000 salmon are dead at the two plants on Vancouver Iceland
In total, it talk about a scrap of just over 1,000 tons. By Muchalat North is a fisherman, while 146.000 dead 532.000 dead by Williamson. Biomassetapet is something larger because it’s in significant Muchalat larger fishes it is talking about here.
The increased mortality due to low oxygen levels, the company said in a press release. The situation is now stabilized and the mortality normalized, according to Grieg Seafood.
Scrap is equivalent to half of the scant biomass — that is, the total weight of all the fish-in the two plants.
Courtesy of nrk.no
Hundreds of dead fish found in lakes in Welwyn Garden City, England, UK
The grizzly scene, including carp as well as smaller fish, was discovered over the weekend.
Steven Rafferty, of Greencroft, Hatfield, has fished the lakes since he was a child and was just one of the many to express his disgust.
He said: “It’s like a nuclear holocaust. There’s decades of stock that has been lost.”
Courtesy of whtimes.co.uk
Thousands of dead fish found on the beaches of Oleron Island, France
Many fish were found stranded at the reserve Moëze-Oléron . Specifically, the guards of this natural reserve found between the harbor of Brouage and the southern dike Montportail, thousands of dead fish, mostly mullet, but also Congress and eels. Specimens have subsequently been found in Rivedoux, on the island Ré .
The Departmental Directorate of territories and the sea has investigated the origin of mortality. Autopsies and analyzes were carried out by a laboratory in La Rochelle.
The bacteriological analysis showed no pathogenic (causing qualifies disease) common. Physical examinations of animals support the hypothesis of a problem of asphyxia due to high temperatures that have occurred.
The animals were trapped in leashes of water whose oxygen levels fell with the sharp rise in temperatures. The concentrations of dead fish on two sites only thus explained by the currents during rising tides.
Courtesy of sudouest.fr
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