Harmful Algae Bloom

What you don’t know about algae blooms can harm you. I have written several articles about the effects of algae blooms on Lake Erie fishing. I didn’t realize how many different types of algae blooms there are and how much of a threat to humans and animals they can be.

Harmful algae blooms (HABS) can contain toxins that are dangerous to humans and animals. It is impossible to tell the harmful algae blooms from those that are not harmful by observing them. Chemical tests are required to see if the toxins are present. This presents a pretty scary scenario for anyone who may come into contact with them. There are documented cases of HABS causing illness in humans and animals and even death in some animals.

Last year while fishing many fishermen came into contact with the huge bloom that covered much of the western basin of Lake Erie. I know I did. I didn’t have any harmful effects that I am aware of but I didn’t know what to look for. Here is a list of symptoms for humans. Numbness of lips, tingling in fingers and toes, headache, respiratory distress, rash or skin irritation, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and death.

This list of illness’ for humans puts the algae bloom in a whole different light. It’s one thing to reduce the number of fish, it’s quite another to put humans in serious danger. I wonder why the danger is not more widely publicized? My guess is that it’s lack of knowledge. The State of Ohio in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio EPA have published a pamphlet labeled Algae Awareness 101.

It has a wealth of information concerning what you need to know about algae blooms in general and HABS in particular. The thing that jumped out at me was what often causes a normal algae bloom to become a harmful algae bloom. Yes you guessed it. Phosphorus and nitrogen, both of which are largely produced by farm runoff and municipal overflow dumping.

This is a problem that everyone enjoying Lake Erie needs to be aware of and a problem that requires a solution now rather that later. I know that it will be expensive to fix but I don’t believe we have a choice. The harm that can be caused far outweighs the cost of resolving this issue. There are things that each of us can do. We can become more knowledgeable on the facts about algae blooms. We can report the blooms to the ODNR and we can make sure we physically stay out of the blooms.