Hong Kong Red Tide Spreads

FROTH AND BUBBLE

The waters around Hong Kong's outer island of Lamma are swamped with a red tide, or huge blooms of non-toxic algae, 07 June 2007. The red tides have led to the closure of 11 beaches, government officials said this week, while local press reports claimed the blooms were the biggest since 1998. The algal bloom in 1998, one of the worst in the southern Chinese territory's history, killed 90 percent of its farmed fish, according to press reports. Photo courtesy AFP.

by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) June 10, 2007
The huge blooms of algae affecting the waters around Hong Kong have spread to a popular beach on the south of the island, authorities said Sunday. The government warned people not to swim off Stanley Beach after the so-called red tide was spotted there. The latest sighting takes the number of affected beaches to 15, and local media said the latest outbreak was the biggest since 1998, when 90 percent of the city's farmed fish were wiped out.

Red tides are caused by the rapid multiplication of microscopic algae which discolour the water.

Authorities said the latest outbreak was caused by a rare but non-toxic form of algae, and no fish deaths had so far been reported.

Although the algae are not poisonous they can deprive fish of oxygen, and authorities urged farmers to monitor the situation closely.

On Thursday, state media in China reported that a toxic red tide had struck near Shenzhen, a booming city just across the border from Hong Kong, prompting fears it could spread southwards.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Email This Article

Related Links
the missing link Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

FROTH AND BUBBLE

Sediment Dredging Has Fallen Short Of Achieving Cleanup Goals At Many Contaminated Sites

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 11, 2007
At many projects to dredge contaminated sediments from U.S. rivers and other bodies of water, it has not been demonstrated that dredging has reduced the long-term risks the sediments pose to people and wildlife, says a new report from the National Research Council. Many dredging projects have had difficulty meeting short-term goals for reducing pollution levels.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Locals Block Work At Indonesian Mud Volcano Steel Dam Plan To Plug Indonesian Mud Volcano Chinese Space Agency Joins The International Charter Space And Major Disasters LSU And Los Alamos Team Up To Improve Evacuation Plans	CLIMATE SCIENCE Push-Button Climate Modeling Now Available Climate Groups Cool On G8 Deal But US Turnabout Hailed Major Developing Nations Lukewarm On G8 Climate Goals US Torpedoes German Hopes For Binding G8 Climate Deal
EARTH OBSERVATION Envisat Captures First Image Of Sargassum From Space US Experts Predict Nine Atlantic Hurricanes This Season Space Systems/Loral Awarded NASA Contract For Landsat Data Continuity Mission Accommodation Study Tracking A Hot Spot In The Center Of The Biggest Ocean On Earth	ENERGY TECH Calpine Geysers Announce Five-Year Geothermal Energy Deal Airtricity Officially Opens 124 MW Forest Creek Wind Farm in West Texas Nordic Windpower Launches Lower Cost Wind Turbines For US Markets White Paper Outlines Concerns About Rapid and Unregulated Growth Of Wind Industry
EPIDEMICS Bono And Geldof blast G8 AIDS Pledge Farce US Firm To Trial Bird Flu Vaccine In Indonesia And Hong Kong Avian Influenza Survivor Antibodies Effective At Neutralising H5N1 Strain System To Pinpoint Airline Passengers Who Contaminate Cabins	FLORA AND FAUNA New Collaborative Research Reveals Chimpanzees Can Sustain Multiple-Tradition Cultures Threats To Wild Tigers Growing Komodo Dragon Mauls Boy To Death In Indonesia Agent Slows Aging In Mice
FROTH AND BUBBLE Hong Kong Red Tide Spreads Sediment Dredging Has Fallen Short Of Achieving Cleanup Goals At Many Contaminated Sites Tampa Electric Completes First Phase Massive Air Pollution Control Project China Says Pollution Woes To Ease This Year	ABOUT US Upright Walking May Have Begun In The Trees Amazon Tribesman Takes Rainforest Message To Japan Color Vision Drove Primates To Develop Red Skin And Hair Northrop Grumman Dedicates Habitat For Humanity House

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement