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Went to Manukan Island last week, the water at Jesselton point was covered with slimy brownish colored algae. It's red tide algae bloom again! C. polikrikoides cells
The Red Tide was believed to be caused by the presence of Cochclodinium polikrikoides, one of the red tide causing species. This species does not produce harmful toxins, but kills fishes through asphyxiation or the lack of oxygen due to the gills being clogged by the cells.
Consumption of fish that died as a result of oxygen deprivation caused by the C. polikrikoides does not cause any health hazards for humans.
Theres 4 ways red tide cause harm to other organisms:
- Presence of so many cells may suffocate fish by clogging or irritating the gills (as in Cochlodinium sp.). NOT good for fish farmers.
- Then the densely concentrated algal cells die off, the decay process, assisted by bacteria, can deplete the water of Oxygen, which can lead to death of Oxygen-dependent marine creatures.
- Some algal species produce deadly toxins which directly kill the animals that ingest the poisons.
- By shellfish (called PSP or Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning) such as mussels, clams and oysters which feed by filtering particles, including phytoplankton from sea water. Toxins from certain dinoflagellate or diatom species accumulate in the tissues of shellfish, when people, sea mammals, or seabirds eat the shellfish, they ingest the toxins as well.
In Sabah, the species that is harmfull to human is Pyrodinium bahamense. High risk areas in Sabah include Kota Kinabalu (particularly near Gaya Island and Sepanggar Bay), Binsuluk, Kuala Penyu, Sipitang and Kota Marudu.
-Sofia-
7 comments:
great! very informative :)
heard the red tide is present in Tawau coastal water as well
hei! ya, it's red tide seasons...again... people busy talking about it but no action taken, so far...hmmm?? so, how's the brunei trip? :)
how's the red tide situation now, salha? ums memang ada buat kajian kan? thanks for the info (o:
for sure KK got red tide la.... its very visible. i heard a team from UMS came to sandakan to collect samples sebab ada red tide but when i came here in sandakan i asked people and they say tiada masalah pun
it's still raining a lot here in sandakan
Very helpful information with the date, location and photos.
How common do you spot the red tide in Sabah? Do you make any record by yourself? I am very interested to know if any one have observed red tide in the deeper ocean off Sabah and taken the photos.
Hi maru maru, the information on red tide we have here were based on our own observation and from talking to people and authorities. Red tide is quite a common phenomenon in Sabah lately, it can last for months especially at a more sheltered area where the flushing rate is low. The University Malaysia Sabah and the fisheries department are doing the research and monitoring of red tide in Sabah. As for red tide in deeper ocean, the university might have done some research and monitoring on it but most research i believe being carried out at the coastal areas.
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