OMEN: Hong Kong Beaches Turn BLOOD RED - Beach-Goers Advised Not To Swim?!

 Photo: SCMP Pictures

March 8, 2016 - HONG KONG - Beach-goers advised not to swim at Clear Water Bay Second Beach and Silver Mine Bay Beach, while brown foam appears on Cheung Chau shoreline

Several parts of Hong Kong were hit by suspected red tides over the weekend, with swathes of the Cheung Chau shoreline caked with a putrid, foamy discharge that put off many beach-goers.

Pictures taken by local islanders and tourists on Saturday and Sunday showed parts of the island's Tung Wan Beach covered in the light brown froth.

Red tide found in Sam Mun Tsai in 2014. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Red tides, or algal blooms, are areas of seawater discoloured - brown, pink or red - by large concentrations of micro-organisms that may deplete levels of dissolved oxygen. Sightings usually peak in the spring. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said the Environmental Protection Department was taking water samples.

On Saturday, beach-goers were advised not to swim at Clear Water Bay Second Beach in Sai Kung and Silver Mine Bay Beach on Lantau Island.

A reader photo showing the foamy waters at Cheung Chau over the weekend. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The government's inter-departmental red tide working group reported six red tides in Hong Kong waters last week in Silverstrand Beach and Hoi Ha Wan in Sai Kung, Junk Bay, Sham Wan, Lo Tik Wan, the Sok Kwu Wan and Cheung Sha Wan fish culture zones, and the east and west Lamma channels.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has stepped up monitoring of the fish culture zones in close vicinity of the red tides. - South China Morning Post.

MASS BIRD DIE-OFFS: Disaster Precursors - Dozens Of Dead Birds Found On Mississippi Beaches?!

Dead seagull found lying on beach in Pass Christian.  © Missy Dubuisson

December 15, 2015 - MISSISSIPPI, UNITED STATES - It's a frightening sight along the coastline. First fish, now dozens of birds found dead on beaches in several coast cities.

"We got reports of several birds in the Gulfport area and after speaking with DEQ they got several more birds in the Biloxi area," said Missy Dubuisson with Wild at Heart Rescue.

Even in Long Beach, many species of birds have been found lifeless or clinging to life. Experts saying it all goes back to the unprecedented December red tide.

"Of course there probably has been this issue before on a smaller scale and we might have just had a bird or two that maybe came in and didn't make it, but we weren't seeing what we're seeing now," said Dubuisson.

Caretakers at Wild at Heart Rescue are currently rehabilitating a pelican who started with a hook injury, but is now battling respiratory distress due to the algal bloom.

Wild at Heart Rescue workers are currently rehabilitating this pelican believed to be affected by the algal bloom. © WLOX News

"We have been informed that we cannot release him until the algae bloom is gone," said Dubuisson. Experts say algal blooms happen throughout the coast annually, but never with this much beach affected at one time. Dubuisson says a neurotoxin causes respiratory distress in animals not only by eating, but even when they swim in the infected water.

"It's pretty much going to be fatal for most of them, but we are going to do our best to take care of those," said Dubuisson.

Dubuisson also added that the illnesses caused by the harmful algal bloom can be transmitted to humans, and can prove fatal to those with compromised immune systems.

Fish were the first organisms to wash ashore. © Missy Dubuisson

"What we need the public to do is if they see those, don't try to touch them. We need a GPS location and we need photos, if they can," said Dubuisson.

According to DMR officials, Sunday night's cool and windy weather could actually clear up the algal bloom and make the overall situation better. - MS News Now.

THE WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Farm Pollution Triggers Sea Sparkle Luminescence - Amazing Glowing Blue Sea In Hong Kong, Can Be Devastating To Marine Life And Fisheries!

This Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 photo made with a long exposure shows the glow from a Noctiluca scintillans algal bloom along the seashore in Hong Kong.

January 24, 2015 - HONG KONG - Eerie fluorescent blue patches of water glimmering off Hong Kong's seashore are magnificent, but disturbing and potentially toxic, marine biologists say.

The glow is an indicator of a harmful algal bloom created by something called Noctiluca scintillans, nicknamed Sea Sparkle.

It looks like algae and can act like algae, but is in fact a single-celled organism that technically can function as both animal and plant.  

These type blooms are triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries, according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, who was shown Associated Press photos of the glowing water.

The plankton and Noctiluca become more abundant when nitrogen and phosphorous from farm run-off increase.

The luminescence, also called Sea Sparkle, is triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries,
according to University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye.

'Those pictures are magnificent.

'It's just extremely unfortunate that the mysterious and majestic blue hue is created by a Noctiluca,' Joye wrote in an email Thursday.

This is part of a problem that is growing worldwide, said Joye and other scientists.

Noctiluca is a type of single-cell life that eats plankton and is eaten by other species.
The plankton and Noctiluca become more abundant when nitrogen and phosphorous from farm run-off increase.


WATCH: Incredible glowing blue sea in Hong Kong.

Unlike similar organisms, Noctiluca doesn't directly produce chemicals that can attack the nervous system or parts of the body.

But recent studies show it is much more complicated and links them to blooms that have been harmful to marine life. - Daily Mail.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Rare, Deadly And Never Seen Before Virus Blamed For South Australian Dolphin Deaths - 25 Dolphins Washed Ashore Dead During Past Few Weeks?!

April 28, 2013 - AUSTRALIA - A DEADLY virus never seen before in South Australian waters is responsible for at least two of the state's recent dolphin deaths, University of Adelaide veterinary pathologists have found.

Post mortem results have revealed the morbillivirus and systemic fungal infection as the cause of the recent deaths of the juvenile dolphins.

This dead young dolphin washed ashore on Seacliff beach last week. Picture: Newsforce Source: adelaidenow

University of Adelaide veterinary pathologist Dr Lucy Woolford said she believed it was the first report of dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) in the state.

"This does raise some concern that more animals will be affected within South Australia in coming months," she said.

"We don't know how big an impact it will have on the local dolphin population, whether it will be sporadic cases or become more widespread."

Dr Woolford conducted post mortems on the dolphins with assistance from Biosecurity SA and the pathology results have now been confirmed.

The viruses have previously caused the deaths of juvenile dolphins in Queensland, northern NSW and Western Australia as well as overseas.


The results of these findings have been provided to a task force set up by the State Government.

Dr Woolford said scientists were unsure how the deadly virus came to South Australian waters, but believed it was probably through other dolphins.

"It's probably not in the water, it's probably animals that carry the virus," she said.

"Any sort of virus disease in a population is a concern if it hasn't been present before.

"It's hard to know what impact it will have animals off our coastline."

Dr Woolford said a closely related virus can affect other animals including sea lions, seals and whales.

"We have to find out how many of these animals are carrying the virus (and if) there are any other contributing factors that are causing the deaths," she said.

"It (the virus) could still be circulating in the population - this may not be the end of the dolphin deaths." - Adelaide Now.


A virus not previously detected in South Australia has been blamed for a spate of dolphin deaths along local beaches.

Veterinary pathologist Lucy Woolford said the morbillivirus and a systemic fungal infection had been detected in two of the young dolphins tested.

They were among 25 found dead and washed up in recent weeks.

She said the discovery raised concerns that more of the animals could die in coming months.

"We don't know how big an impact it will have on the local dolphin population, whether it will be sporadic cases or become more widespread," Dr Woolford said.

Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has previously been implicated in the death of juvenile dolphins in Queensland, northern NSW and Western Australia.

Overseas it has been thought to be the cause of die-offs of whales and dolphins.

Around the same time as the dolphin deaths, tens of thousands of small fish also washed up dead along various parts of the SA coastline.

That sparked a wider investigation with scientists later attributing the fish deaths to an algal bloom sparked by unseasonal winds. - 9NEWS.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: Disaster Precursors - Another Fish Kill On Adelaide's Beaches In Australia?!

March 29, 2013 - AUSTRALIA - MORE dead fish have washed up on Adelaide's southern beaches overnight.

Dead fish on Seaford beach . Picture: Roger Wyman Source: adelaidenow

The fish washed up at Seaford and Biosecurity SA is an attendance to collect fish for forensic testing.

It follows a similar incident last week when thousands of dead fish were found across long stretches of sand at Moana, Moana South, O'Sullivans Beach and Christies Beach.

Biosecurity SA aquatic pests manager Vic Neverauskas said high levels of algal bloom from hot weather had depleted oxygen levels in the water.

Dead fish on Seaford beach . Picture: Roger Wyman.

Dead fish on Seaford beach . Picture: Roger Wyman.

Dead fish on Seaford beach . Picture: Roger Wyman.

Mr Neverauskas said the incident was linked to the dead fish that washed up on Eyre Peninsula this month, with strong westerly winds blowing the algal bloom back towards Adelaide.

"The best information suggests we are dealing with extensive algal bloom from hot weather," he said.

He said the desalination plant had nothing to do with the fish deaths. - Adelaide Now.

MASS FISH DIE-OFF: 50,000 Dead Starfish Found on Irish Lissadell Beach!

November 12, 2012 - IRELAND - Extreme weather conditions have killed tens of thousands of starfish and left them strewn across a sheltered beach.  A carpet of pink and mauve echinoderms, a family of marine animals, appeared yesterday morning on Lissadell Beach in north Co Sligo. 

Lissadell Beach, Co Sligo, strewn with dead starfish. © Unknown.

The adult starfish, measuring between 7cm and 20cm in diameter and estimated to be up to 50,000 in number, stretched along 150 metres of the strand.  Marine biologist and lecturer at Sligo Institute of Technology Bill Crowe speculated that they had been lifted up by a storm while feeding on mussel beds off shore.  "The most likely explanation is that they were feeding on mussels but it is a little strange that none of them were attached to mussels when they were washed in," he said.  He added that if they had died as a result of a so-called 'red tide' or algal bloom, other sealife would have been washed ashore with them.  "These were almost all adult size and the typical starfish variety that is found in the North Atlantic but there was nothing else mixed in with them," he said. 

Surveying the unusual scene, he placed some in a bucket of seawater to test whether they were alive, but while this prompted a slight response from one or two of the creatures, the vast majority were dead.  Tim Roderick, District Conservation Officer with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, agreed the phenomenon was most likely caused by recent bad weather.  "They turned up almost certainly as a result of an exceptional storm event.  "A storm hit the seabed where these sub-tidal animals were and lifted them up and washed them ashore," he said.  A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government said that investigations were continuing into how they came to be washed ashore but initial indications pointed to the stormy weather, which has been a feature in the north-west in recent days.  In a similar episode earlier this year, thousands of dead starfish washed ashore on Youghal Beach in Co Cork.  Scientists speculated that they, too, had been thrown on to the beach by an underflow, which was probably caused by a storm at sea. - Belfast Telegraph.