A state program that monitors red tide to allow for precise closures of shellfish areas is in danger of running out of funds.
The biotoxin monitoring program, which was first instituted during the 2006 red tide season, allows for “surgical closures” during red tide events, allowing the state Department of Marine Resources (DMR) to be very precise in which areas remain open or closed, according to DMR scientist Darcie Couture.
The program becomes even more important for this clam season, since the state’s first red tide closure began March 24, the earliest such closure on record.
Couture is concerned because the federal money used to start and maintain the monitoring program will run out next year. The cost of running the program, which includes sentinel buoys and extra staff to monitor clam flats, is approximately $300,000 per year. Her staff will be reduced by about 75 percent once the funds area exhausted, she said.
Approximately $391,000 of the federal Red Tide Disaster Relief Fund, awarded to the state in 2006, was set aside to start the program, which, according to Couture, has been extremely effective.
In 2008, Maine received another $2 million-a portion of which is being used to continue the monitoring program through the end of 2011.
Couture stressed that not every area within the red tide closure borders is always affected, which is why surgical closures are so important. (Areas that are closed are posted on the DMR Web site.)
The monitoring program involves using sentinel buoys, similar to lobster buoys, near clamming areas. Bait bags of mussels are tied to the buoys, which act as an early-warning system for red tide outbreaks.
“The data gained from that program helped us to keep more areas open,” said Couture.
The bags are numbered by area and are collected by DMR staff and shellfish wardens so the mussels can be tested for toxins.
The buoy monitoring system is used in Casco and Cobscook Bays because those areas are complex to monitor. According to Couture, the DMR has about 40 buoys throughout Casco Bay and 15 buoys in Cobscook Bay.
“Surgical closures could not be done in those major bays without the use of the data we get from the buoy stations,” she said. “Without the buoys, there would be large, broad-scale closures in those areas.”
Couture added that, in other areas, the DMR is able to create “very small exception areas for harvest,” by working with local shellfish wardens “to target resource-rich areas which may not be severely impacted by red tide, but which may lie inside a larger closed area.”
As far as Couture is aware, there is no new legislation on the horizon that designates money specifically for the monitoring program leading to concern about the future of the program. “…I’m not sure of what will happen when the federal funding runs out after the 2011 red tide season,” said Couture.
“If we scale back to the very basic program funded by the state alone, then it will mean a huge reduction in staff and resources, and we will not be able to do surgical closures or keep exception areas open. The program will still protect public health, but I’m afraid it will mean larger closures for longer periods of time, and could be quite an economic hardship on our shellfish industry…”
Dan Devereaux, shellfish warden and president of the Maine Shellfish Officers Association, said recently that harvesters played an important role in the introduction of “surgical closures.”
Subtidal mussels are often the best indicator of red tide in an area because those are constantly submerged and filter water continuously. According to Devereaux, historically harvesters were often the first ones aware of when an area was affected by red tide because they noticed mussels became lethargic. At the same time, “They [harvesters] said they didn’t think certain closed areas were affected and asked the state to test those.”
Devereaux noted that testing more specific areas has allowed the DMR to be more precise in their closures and has legitimized what the harvesters had been saying. He added that practicing “surgical closures” has benefited the shellfish industry in multiple ways. “It’s allowed the DMR to leave more harvesting areas open, keep these guys working, and keep shellfish on the market,” said Devereaux.
Those involved with the shellfish industry know the devastating impact of red tide.. Closures due to red tide ripple through economy, affecting more than just harvesters. “You figure you’ve got 55 clam diggers [in Freeport] and they sell to the dealers,” said Freeport harbormaster Jay Pinkham. “They purchase equipment from the stores-gloves, boots, etc. plus soda and sandwiches. If they can’t dig because of red tide, they can’t go out to the stores and buy their products. It’s also a big thing for tourists to buy clams.”
Couture reported that the red tide season usually extends from April through September. She said the DMR began testing “more worrisome areas” about a month early because of a February 24 alert from NOAA predicting a significant red tide this year. (That alert was based upon a very elevated red tide cyst count in Maine’s coastal waters last year.)
Couture remarked that warm weather and northeast winds might have contributed to the early discovery of red tide toxin. “The northeast winds drive the toxin in towards the shore,” said Couture.
In regards to tourists and out-of-state markets buying Maine shellfish, DMR’s Couture emphasized “No red tide illnesses have ever been reported in relation to shellfish that have made it to market in Maine.” She added that the only red tide illnesses reported in Maine, that she’s aware of, have been among private citizens who dug in closed areas.