Red tide algae blooms in Bay Area not as severe as last year's event
Officials with the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board said Thursday that harmful algal blooms also known as "red tides" found recently in parts of the Bay have not so far brought widespread fish deaths like a similar event in the region last year.
The water board and other agencies have been monitoring the algal blooms seen since last week along parts of the shoreline in areas off of Alameda, between Emeryville to Albany, and certain parts of Marin County, but have not found any significant harm to aquatic life.
However, the water board is advising people in their pets to avoid swimming or otherwise coming in contact with discolored water in the Bay until further notice.
The water board has issued a list of frequently asked questions about the algal bloom that can be found at https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/HAB_FAQ.html.
Last summer, a red tide in the Bay led to large quantities of fish deaths attributed to depleted oxygen in the vicinity of the algal blooms, though the water board notes that red tides are relatively common and are known to occur off of California's coast or come into San Francisco Bay.
Anyone who spots a suspected harmful algal bloom can fill out an online form at https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/do/bloomreport.html or can email CyanoHAB.Reports@waterboards.ca.gov or call (844) 729-6466.
Reports of dead fish can be sent to the SF Bay Harmful Algae Bloom 2023 project on iNaturalist, set up by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/sf-bay-harmful-algae-bloom-2023.