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Community Corner

Red Tide Plagues Noyac Bay [PHOTOS]

Toxic algal bloom has become an annual occurrence in East End waters.

Streaks of red tide — a toxic algal bloom that threatens marine life — were clearly visible in Noyac Bay during a flyover on Thursday.

Aerial photographer captured images of red tide lining the shore at .

Red tide has appeared in Long Island waters every summer since 2004, Chris Gobler, Ph.D., told Patch earlier this month, when the algal bloom .

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Gobler, a School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences professor, said red tide typically appears in late August, but this summer it was detected in late July. The early arrival could be attributed to high temperatures this summer, he said.

"This red tide is caused by the dinoflagellate, cochlodinium," Gobler explained. "Cochlodinium is not a human health threat but is highly toxic to marine life.  Fish exposed to dense cochlodinium blooms cannot survive more than one to six hours, depending on their size. We have had fish die at the Southampton marine lab when our intake system brought in red tide water."

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After patches of red tide have passed through, pound net fisherman have found that catches have died off, he added.

The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, , announced Monday a plan to restore the health of another local bay, Shinnecock, by seeding eelgrass and shellfish beds in strategic areas where they are most likely to thrive. Shellfish filter algae from water, but their populations in Long Island waters have declined in recent decades, a trend marine sciences hope to turn around.

If the effort proves successful, it could be implemented in other distressed bodies of water, both locally and around the world.

Research demonstrates that algal blooms are made worse by an increased flow of nitrogen into the bays, from sources such as cesspools and fertilizers, Gobler said.

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