11.5 MILLION #clams wash up on a #beach in #WesternCape, #SouthAfrica

Image: Sharyn Hodges via Twitter

Ecologists think they know why 11.5 million clams washed up on Robberg Beach in Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape last week.

The dedicated marine team of Nature’s Valley Trust, a non-profit organisation focusing on marine conservation and research in Plettenberg Bay and surrounding areas, said the washouts had become an annual event.

In a statement the marine team said: “The most plausible reason is that strong easterly swells and winds cause a large disturbance in the sand banks in which these clams usually reside.

“The turbulent water movement may prevent the clams from being able to burrow back and thus become subject to wave action and consequently wash out on to the beach.

“What we don’t know is why there are so many clams in the area, and why these strong winds are now causing them to wash out.”

The Marine Tourism Sustainability Project team and SANParks have quantified the clams (Mactra glabrata) through surveys which looked at the extent of the washout.

According to their calculations the recent washout extended to 5,875m² with the average number of clams in the deepest section (more than a metre deep) at 35,300m³.

The washout has left tons of protein on the beach and scavenger activity is expected.

Courtesy of timeslive.co.za

https://tinyurl.com/y5mlcnge

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Hundreds of thousands of dead clams wash up on Revere Beach, Massachusetts, USA

Tim Dibble of the Department of Conservation and Recreation used a tractor while burying Atlantic surf clams on Revere Beach in Revere – Photo by Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic surf clams washed up on Revere Beach in recent days, creating a strange spectacle on the popular seashore Wednesday and a foul-smelling coda to the summer.

Authorities were trying to determine the cause of the mass die-off. Just before midday, as waves crashed nearby, bulldozers dispatched by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation dug large trenches in the sand to bury the juvenile shellfish in an “environmentally friendly manner.”

It was the third and largest event of its kind involving surf clams this summer, and similar events have occurred in the last 10 years at Nantasket Beach Reservation and Ipswich Bay, the DCR said.

The Division of Marine Fisheries is analyzing the clams and expects to have preliminary results in the coming days that might point to a cause.

“I’m puzzled by this,” said Bruce Berman, a spokesman for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, an environmental advocacy group. “There have been shellfish kills, and they’re increasing in my opinion, as we deal with results of climate change.”

The changing water temperatures and fresh/saltwater mix of the ocean could have killed the “particularly sensitive” clams, said Berman, who was at Revere Beach on Wednesday morning. He also said a particular type of algae could have clogged the gills of the clams and caused them to suffocate.

“The extent and duration of this event are fairly unique in my experience, though that doesn’t mean they’re unique in the world,” Berman said. “But if they keep coming up on the beach every tide, it’s an uphill battle.”

Courtesy of bostonglobe.com

https://tinyurl.com/yafb727d

MASSIVE die off of clams, fish, oysters and shrimp in Kien Giang Province, Vietnam

The mass of fish, clams, oysters and shrimps in Kien Giang province in the past few days has been unusually dead, causing billions of dong in damages to the people, as well as causing terrible stench in the area.

 

Residents say that the phenomenon of unusual seafood has appeared for many days, extending from the beach in Kien Luong district to Ha Tien town.

 

Seafood died most on May 8, a series of fish floating on the water and lying on the sand.

 

Not only fish but bottom-dwelling species such as prawns, crabs, crabs, and especially deep-sea species like clams and oysters also die in mass.

 

Mr. Vinh Kim, Chairman of Thuan Yen Clam Cattle Cooperative (Ha Tien Town), said: “The clam of the cooperative is close to the harvest date, the white dead, damage billions. Fish and shrimp also die in bulk. “

 

Mr. Phu Cot Lien (resident of Thuan Yen commune, Ha Tien town) chokedly said that he invested more than 1.5 billion for this clot but now lost.

 

Maybe, yesterday I harvested this clam. Expected to catch more than 250 tons, with the price of 21,000 thousand VND / kg, then collected more than 5 billion. But now clams are dead, “Lien said.

 

Truong Anh Vu, a resident of Duong Hoa Commune, Kien Luong District, said: “I drop 15 tons of clams like the last few billion. On harvest day, this is considered as empty hands. “

 

Mr. Van Khen (resident of Duong Hoa commune, Kien Luong district) said: “Previously I dropped nets at the beach near the house stick a lot of fish, but since the fish died so far can not baby brain”.

 

After receiving the information people reflected, Kien Giang province’s functional sector has come down to the field of field inspection and water samples sent to test to find out the cause of dead sea mass.

 

MARD also sent the team to the field and took some samples to take the test to find the cause.

 

A source from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Kien Giang province said that the agency had received the results of preliminary analysis of water samples analyzed CENTEMA Center for Applied Technology and Environmental Management related to the sea Mass production mentioned above.

 

Previously, three samples were transferred to this center for analysis to find the active ingredient that can kill fish mass.

 

As a result, there are 17 basic indicators in seawater and 2 indicators of pesticides are in the standard. Particularly surfactant indicators (indicators not in standard 10-MT: 2015 / BTNMT) are higher than normal.

 

In addition to the above three water samples, Kien Giang DONRE collected 7 samples of water for analysis at the laboratory of the Monitoring Center under the Department.

 

Results of the analysis of 7 indicators are included in the standard for QCVN 10-MT: 2015 / BTNMT on coastal water, NH4 + and Coliform only at the point between Tam Ban canal near the sluice gate of Trung Son shrimp pond Is exceeded by environmental standards (3.6 times and 11 times).

 

Currently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is awaiting the results of the analysis of phytoplankton criteria and the results of running gas chromatography to determine the origin of the surfactant. At the same time, the Department is also investigating for sources of surface active substances.

 

It is known that to date, the total number of dead fish is 14,000 including 3 types of grouper, squeeze and squirrel. The total area of ​​clam farming is more than 558ha. The damage range extends over 30km from To Chau bridge in Ha Tien town to Binh An commune, Kien Luong district.

Courtesy of vietnamnet.vn

http://tinyurl.com/ya4nmurb

100+ TONS of clams have died in central Vietnam

PHOTO: AFP

More than 100 tonnes of clams have perished in central Vietnam, state media reported on Thursday (April 28), as public outrage mounts over a possible toxic leak into the sea near an industrial zone.

 

Piles of dead molluscs have been found in the same coastal region where dead fish began washing up on beaches earlier this month, sparking alarm and hammering the local fishing economy.

 

Clam farmers in Ha Tinh province wept over their staggering losses that occurred just ahead of harvest time, state-run Tuoi Tre News reported.

 

Courtesy of straitstimes.com

http://tinyurl.com/homhytf

Thousands of fish, cockles, clams and crabs dying along Hood Canal in Seattle, USA

A lack of oxygen in southern Hood Canal is killing fish, crab and other marine life, according to Seth Book, a biologist with the Skokomish Tribe who has been monitoring the marine waterway.

 

Through the month of August, Book and other Skokomish staff have observed dead English sole and thousands of dead and dying eel pouts on the beaches. They also have found masses of dead cockles and butter clams, and on Friday, Book said he saw hundreds of crab along the beaches that were trying to get to the surface to breath.

 

“It’s a dead zone anywhere east of Sister’s Point to Belfair, Mason County. There’s very low oxygen at depth,” Book said.

 

In another area, off Hoodsport, upwelling had pushed the deep water to the surface, and a University of Washington buoy on Friday detected almost no oxygen in surface waters.

 

Over the years, Hood Canal has repeatedly had low-oxygen summers that resulted in die-offs, and this year is shaping up to be one of the worst. The long, narrow body of water has limited circulation that leads to the low oxygen levels known as hypoxia.

 

And over the past year, the warm marine water that has lingered in the Pacific Northwest —- known as “The Blob” — prevented a normal flushing of Hood Canal with oxygen rich water.

 

Skokomish shellfish staff first observed die-offs back in early July.

 

“One day there would be a fish kill, and the next day would be fine,” Book said.

 

The forecast of stormy weather in the next few days could intensify the die-offs, with southerly winds causing upwellings that push more of the low-oxygen water to the surface.

Courtesy of seattletimes.com

http://tinyurl.com/oezdlym

Hundreds of TONS of clams have died off, ‘never happened before like this’ in Ha Tinh, Vietnam

Courtesy of laodong.com.vn

http://tinyurl.com/mec8djm

Thousands of oysters and clams wash up dead on beaches in Karachi, Pakistan

Thousands of oysters and clams wash up dead on beaches in Karachi, Pakistan

http://tinyurl.com/ka6mz3r