— from Russel Barsh —
Photo taken Monday at Crescent Beach, courtesy of Kim Secunda.
Kwiaht is tracking a very large bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo that turned large areas of East Sound, West Sound, and as of Wednesday, Shoal Bay (Lopez) a brownish-red color. Dead fish washed up on Crescent Beach a few days ago, mainly Shiner Perch.
This bloom-forming organism does not produce a toxic chemical compound, but appears to kill fish by packing up their gills. Unusually warm early summer weather is the likely cause. Sightings of dead fish can be reported to kwiaht@gmail.com. Frozen specimens of dead fish are also sought, and they will be shared with NOAA researchers in Seattle.
Is this what’s causing the awful smell in town, especially at low tide?
The smell is probably the dead fish, small perch, etc. But, the good news is that 20-25 Bald Eagles have been seen at at Crescent Beach, feeding….nature’s way..
If there is a fish kill due to algal bloom, but I believe it is due to Noctiluca, not Heterosigma (which is VERY hard to identify). Noctiluca blooms are often linked to massive fish kills. NOAA trained observers have not found Heterosigma recently, but have found Noctiluca. In either case, this does not appear to be Red Tide (paralytic shellfish poisoning) that so many people think it is.
Today on June 14 I examined under a microscope a water sample taken from a bay on the west side of Eastsound. I found lots of what appear to be Heterosigma. This seems to confirm Russel Barsh’s conclusion that the fish kill on Orcas was due to Heterosigma.