When Northwest coasts were hit by a major algae bloom this fall, the results were devastating to seabirds. Thousands died after being exposed to toxic sea foam – foam that was produced by the algae breaking apart in the waves.
As for people, news stories at the time said there was no danger to human health, despite a handful of reports about surfers and kayakers possibly getting sick.
Now, a group of health officials and other scientists are in the very early stages of studying the issue. Can these events harm people who are playing in the water or walking along the shore? To answer the question, they’re asking for help from surfers.
One of the people involved in the research is Vera Trainer with NOAA. She’s an oceanographer with the Northwest Fishery Science Center.
She says all this started in mid-November, during a conference on harmful algae blooms in Ocean Shores, Washington. One of the participants mentioned surfing in the algae bloom a month earlier, but was still congested and sniffling. Another participant had conducted necropsies on some of the dead birds. She noticed the birds had unusually low levels of bacteria in their stomachs.
That’s about the time they realized they might be on to something. “We decided it was worth studying,” says Trainer. “Are people at risk here? What can we tell the public about this?”
Within days they went to Half Moon Bay near Westport, Washington and collected data from 20 surfers. The surfers answered questions about their health and possible symptoms before and after going in the ocean. The team also collected nasal samples from the surfers. Those tests have yet to be analyzed.
Now they’re asking for even more information from the surfing community. Working with Surfrider chapters in Oregon and Washington, the team wants members to fill out an online survey about how they may have been affected while surfing during the algae bloom. Dr. Myduc Ta with the Washington Department of Health says it’s important to collect more information from a larger group of surfers. She hopes this will tell them if there’s enough evidence to continue with the studies.
If nothing else, Ta says they’ll be better prepared to respond if a major bloom returns next fall.
“Everything is under control,” adds Trainer. “There’s no need for alert or alarm. But we want to have all the information so we can understand this.”
In addition to NOAA, Washington Deparment of Health and Surfrider, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention are also involved in the resesarch.
It’s worth a reminder that toxins produced by algae blooms can seriously sicken people who eat shellfish. In Oregon, the Agriculture Department routinely closes areas of the beach to commercial and recreational harvesting when levels of marine toxins get too high. Currently, the Northern Oregon Coast is closed for recreational and commercial razor clam harvesting.
For more information see: Oregon Department of Agriculture Shellfish Safety Closures.
In Washington, several beaches remain closed to various types of shellfish harvesting. That information is put out by the Health Department. You can find out more on the the Emergency Closures web page.
