Taylor Hill, Take Part - Toxic algae are growing along the West Coast in greater quantities than ever, wreaking havoc on marine life and forcing the closure of Washington’s $20 million Dungeness crab fishery, along with mussel, clam, sardine, and anchovy fisheries in Oregon and California.
The massive algae bloom has been detected as far south as Santa Barbara, California, and as far north as Alaska, and it could continue to limit the seafood supply.
...The suspected culprit? Unusually warm offshore water temperatures, said Vera Trainer, manager of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.
... All marine life is at the mercy of rising ocean temperatures as climate change accelerates. If hotter water creates better conditions for algae blooms to form, that could mean more frequent and severe toxic outbreaks could become the norm in coming decades.
... NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein said it’s normal to have algal blooms in localized areas in the spring, but the last time such an extensive algal bloom was recorded was in 1998—the same year an El Niño weather event pushed warmer waters toward the coast.
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