Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Less than two weeks before the Holy Week and Easter holidays begin, CUCosta researchers warn that this vacation period could be affected by the presence of the red tide that has been detected for more than a month in Banderas Bay.
This harmful algal bloom, which has been present in the bay both in Puerto Vallarta and the municipality of Bahía de Banderas since the end of February, has been causing the death of fish.
According to the ocean water monitoring carried out by the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Guadalajara Puerto Vallarta Campus, Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUCosta), with each sampling, the levels and varieties of marine microorganisms are increasing.
“We’ve been monitoring this red tide since the end of February, and here is the curious thing, the species has either been changing or we are observing a succession of species. Every time we go out to take a water sample, there is a new bloom and, at this time, it is practically covering the entire Bay of Banderas,” explained María del Carmen Cortés Lara, a CUCosta Department of Biological Sciences researcher.
The microorganisms found in the bay are of concern, Cortés Lara pointed out, detailing that they produce neurotoxins, which is why hundreds of dead fish were recently found on a beach in Puerto Vallarta.
“Unfortunately right now we have the presence of a diatom called Pseudonitzschia, which is associated with the production of a domoic acid that is a neurotoxin, that is why we have observed a large number of dead fish in the bay,” the academic added.
Given this, she recommends that people not swim in places where “very dense patches” of these microorganisms are observed, as they can cause skin conditions. “And, obviously, the dead fish should not be consumed,” she said.
Likewise, she explained that although it is a natural phenomenon in the spring season, when algal blooms are the most normal and natural, “we also have nutrients, waters that are much richer in nutrients due to marine upwellings. The water temperature is a little cooler, so these conditions are favorable for this type of organism that we normally find in the bay, but right now the conditions are ideal, which is why they are flourishing.”
She made reference to the fact that the Department of Biological Sciences is part of the Banderas Bay Interstate Red Tides Committee, and said that if the algal bloom continues to advance they will not hesitate to issue a sanitary ban on the consumption of mollusks.
Source: Contralinea