Algae problem on French beach is a world-wide problem

Nightmare for the beaches of Brittany is not an isolated incident.

But the rest of the world had better not be complacent. There have been reports from all everywhere from the coast of Australia, and even lakes and reservoirs of USA of toxic algae.

 In Massachusetts health officials are advising people to take caution around Lake Attitash this weekend due to high counts of a toxic algae. The advisory, which falls short of a full closure of beaches on the region's largest lake, was issued after a Department of Public Health test showed high levels of cyanobacteria, which, if it blooms, appears as a blue-green slick on the water.

In Indiana, State Department of Health is advising people to avoid contact with a blue-green algae that's been found at two popular central Indiana reservoirs.  Elevated levels of the algae have been found at Morse and Geist reservoirs in Hamilton and Marion counties. And high levels of algae toxin have been detected at Geist reservoir.

In Australia a new type of toxic algae is being blamed for killing two dogs on Auckland's beaches. Scientists at the Nelson-based Cawthron Institute have been scouring Narrow Neck Beach for clues into the deaths.  Doctor Susie Wood says they have been working with local agencies testing various samples from the affected areas, including shellfish which tend to absorb any existing toxins. She says it is believed the deaths have been caused by a naturally occurring neurotoxin within the beach environment. Eight penguins and several other birds were seen dead on Omaha beach, north of Auckland. (Source: TVNZ.co.nz

And Italian beaches aren’t escaping this new plague. Swimming has been banned along sections of the Italian coastline because of blooms of toxic algae. Officials last Friday halted swimming from beaches near the northern Italian city of Genoa when a 60-year-old man had to be hospitalized, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Such high concentrations of Ostreopsis ovata -- a type of algae that release neurotoxins into the air -- sent more than 200 people to Genoa-area hospitals during a similar incident last year. The people became ill after swimming in the algae or inhaling toxins carried to the beach by winds, ANSA said.

This reports attributes the increasingly frequent outbreaks of the algae on global warming.

However, in other reports the culprit appears to be nitrate-packed fertilizers that power algae blooms. And the source of the fertilizer is largely the farming industry. Agribusiness that provides inexpensive produce for the world is also slowly killing our oceans, and in some cases, following us on land to create more distruction.

We’ve had warnings. The people of Brittany knew there was danger on those algae-packed beaches. And in 2007 this report was published: Researchers have detected large blooms of toxin-producing algae in Monterey Bay that appear to be poisoning marine mammals and seabirds. Blooms of the algae, which produce a neurotoxin called domoic acid, first appeared in southern California earlier this spring and are now occurring along the Central Coast.

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