The ministry warns against swimming, fishing, or collecting dead fishes in areas affected by the red tide, known as algae blooms.
The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water has detected red tides off the coasts of Ras Al Khaimah in the last few days. The ministry has warned against swimming, fishing, or collecting dead fishes in areas affected by the red tide, known as algae blooms, which appeared for some time, in the UAE regional waters in 2009.
The satellite images collected showed some biological activity in the waters close to the country’s regional waters. Information sent by the UAE Coast Guards reported “green spots” in the same areas.
The ministry, in its report, explained that it dispatched a team of technicians and specialists to track and collect samples of water from different areas of the Arabian Gulf off the RAK coasts.
“The samples collected showed that red tide plankton or organisms, known for its green colour, were significantly detected in the collected samples by up to 92 per cent,” the report said.
“No dead fishes or other marine creatures, however, were seen off the RAK Coasts,” the report said.
However, fishermen and the local department concerned said they haven’t received any alerts from the ministry about the development.
The RAK Department for Environment Protection and Environment (DEPE) said the so called red tide detected is just a kind of bacteria, which normally appear and reproduce at the same time every year, changing the colour of the water.
Dr Saif Al Ghais, professor of Marine Lives at the UAE University and Executive Director of DEPE, said the proliferation of this kind of bacteria change the water colour. “However, it does not have any negative impact on marine life, and does not disrupt the work of water desalination plants,” he said.
Fishermen here said the only problem they faced is “unstable weather” and denied having spotted red tides. Ali Hassan, a fisherman, said the weather has become stable enough for the fishermen to fish in the morning and evening. “We have not come across any red tide.”
Dr Al Ghais said the red tides are mostly caused by natural occurrences due to the rapid growth of phytoplankton and that there were limited scientific solutions to the phenomenon. “Algae blooms reduce the amount of oxygen in the water and greatly affects the marine environment, including the killing of fish. Certain types of algae can also produce dangerous toxins. They occur under certain conditions, such as when large amounts of sunlight combine with increased nutrients from effluent.”
The red tide appeared in RAK early in September, 2008 and spread along most of the country’s coasts — Umm Al Quwain, Ajman, Sharjah and parts of Dubai. It appeared again in February, 2009, and spread across the country’s waters. It destroyed large amounts of fish and marine creatures, and affected fishing in the affected areas.
Al Ghais said the coastal water along the red tide coasts is characterized by moderate concentration of oxygen ranging from 4.5-5 mg/l, and the salinity ratio ranges between 39-40 per cent.
“However, toxicity tests showed that there are no toxic kinds of phytoplankton that cause red tide. Dead fish or other marine organisms were not found. The red tide was probably caused by the climate changes and accompanying phenomenon,” he said. -ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com
No comments :
Post a Comment