It may be harmful to humans, too. An algal bloom of this size can cause skin irritation and respiratory problems, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is advising people to avoid swimming, kayaking, or other activities on the water until the bloom subsides.

Mary Spicer of Alameda, who paddles on the bay with an outrigger canoe team, said some members of her team have been experiencing skin irritation after coming into contact with the water over the past few weeks. Spicer said she began to notice discoloration of the water about a month ago — and then it turned to a “denser, thicker, chocolaty brown.”

Paddling at the Oakland Estuary a couple weeks ago, she was heartbroken to see a juvenile harbor seal poking its head out of the discolored water. “Just to see these marine creatures… having to live in the red, brown, dense water, it’s really just disconcerting,” she said.

Dead fish line the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland on Aug. 29, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes red tides as a “harmful algal bloom,” or large colonies of algae plants growing out of control that are sometimes rust-colored. Not all algal blooms are harmful, and most are beneficial in the ocean.

However, a small percentage of algae can produce deadly blooms, and that’s what Rosenfield believes may be happening now.

SF Baykeeper is getting reports through its pollution hotline of dead fish in Foster City, Alameda, Keller Beach in Richmond, Sausalito and Fort Baker.

“Whatever number I offer you would likely be too low,” Rosenfield said.

Government officials KQED reached would not confirm any number yet. But on Monday, Eileen White, executive officer at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, described the algae bloom as “highly unusual” and “much more extensive” than blooms the agency has tracked in the past.

“And this one’s resulting in fish kills, which is not good,” she said. “So we’re going to continue to study, try to find the cause of it and learn from this, so hopefully we can prevent them in the future.”

Damon Tighe, who describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as an educator and a naturalist who studies mycology, tweeted a photo of a pile of dead fish at Lake Merritt on Sunday.

“Massive fish die off going on right now in Lake Merritt,” Tighe tweeted. “May be related to the HUGE algal bloom that’s been happening on the east bay since the start of the month in front of Alameda where effluent flows.” Tighe included a link to iNaturalist, a nature app that allows users to share their observations with other scientists and naturalists.

Massive fish die off going on right now in Lake Merritt #oakland #fish #lakemerritt

May be related to the HUGE algal bloom that’s been happening on the east bay since the start of the month in front of Alameda where effluent flows…https://t.co/1H1byxoWok pic.twitter.com/FJBAU0InIb

— Damon Tighe (@damontighe) August 28, 2022

The algal bloom likely leading to the mass fish death is Heterosigma akashiwo, which SF Baykeeper and the San Francisco Estuary Institute and Aquatic Science Center have been tracking since it appeared in the last month. The aquatic science center noted that fish-kill reports began emerging around August 22, though they noted that the bay’s size makes data gathering a “huge challenge.”

What has changed, Rosenfield said, is those reports finally coming in, as well as confirmation from field investigators this weekend.

The algal bloom that Rosenfield says is most likely causing the die-off, he continued, is caused by a mix of environmental conditions, perhaps worsened by climate change, and treated sewage put out by wastewater treatment plants across the Bay Area. The red tide species of algae, Heterosigma, may be killing fish in two ways: it can produce a toxin that is deadly to fish, but it can also result in low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, which can also be deadly.

“So we’re not sure of which mechanism is operating here. Maybe it’s both,” Rosenfield said. But the same bloom has caused massive fish kills in other parts of the world, as well.

Geese pass by a shore filled with dead fish at Lake Merritt in Oakland on Aug. 29, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

The change that spurred the bloom locally, Rosenfield said, was likely a tipping point in warming waters. The solution, then, is for wastewater treatment plants to begin recycling wastewater in far higher volumes than it does now.

An April 2022 report by the environmental group the Pacific Institute described wastewater recycling as underutilized across California. The group estimates that an additional 1.8 million to 2.1 million acre-feet per year of municipal wastewater is available for reuse in California.

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, an avid swimmer with the South End Rowing Club, saw the red tide himself as he took a dip last week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“My wife said I can’t swim in there anymore,” said Peskin. “I told her about it. It was like swimming through rust.”

He’s started to see the problem on the shores, too. His constituents have already started sending him photos of dead fish on San Francisco beaches. Peskin’s district includes Fisherman’s Wharf and the Embarcadero, areas with borders that touch the water. Peskin wants to ensure that those areas, and beyond, see climate action.

“Our public utilities commission, which is our sewer purveyor, needs to quickly come up with strategies to how San Francisco can do its part in reducing discharges that can exacerbate red tides,” Peskin said.

A dead California bat ray lay on the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland on Aug. 29, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Reached over the weekend, Bill Johnson, chief of the wastewater and enforcement division at the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, pushed back on the assertion that wastewater is to blame — the jury is still out, he says.

He says the water control board is spending $2.2 million annually to fund scientists studying the algal bloom to see if it is indeed caused by human wastewater.

“So if the solution is to ask the wastewater community to spend billions and billions of dollars for nutrients, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Johnson said. “But if the underlying causes are something else and if investing all that money isn’t going to solve the problem, we need to know that before we take that measure.”

Rosenfield countered Johnson’s statements by pointing to a 2020 report from James Cloern, senior scientist emeritus at the US Geological Survey, that showed San Francisco Bay had “high nutrient loadings, primarily from municipal wastewater,” leading to the “potential for high algal production. “

Regardless, understanding what’s causing the algal bloom is crucial, Rosenfield said, because it is almost certainly not a one-off. Without preventive measures, this could be an annual occurrence, rising when the waters warm, and fading as they cool.

It’s already beginning to spook Rosenfield, who isn’t easy to spook — he’s been a senior scientist at SF Baykeeper for four years, and was a lead scientist at The Bay Institute for nearly 11 years.

What really rocked him was seeing a number of a particular white sturgeon, a rare fish that’s part of a recreational fishery, show up dead on Stinson Beach.

They don’t wind up dead nearly as easily, being large, armored fish.

“Seeing that sturgeon is an indicator of a much larger problem,” he said.

Like a canary in a coal mine, but with scales.

KQED’s Lesley McClurg contributed reporting to this story.

The post Lifeless Fish Are Piling Up Throughout Shores of San Francisco Bay, Lake Merritt, As Algal Bloom Grows appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

When KQED showed a social media video of dead fish piling up at the edge of Lake Merritt, Johnson said, “That’s a pretty powerful image. Yeah, that’s not good.”

Damon Tighe, who describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as an educator and a naturalist who studies mycology, tweeted a photo of a pile of dead fish at Lake Merritt on Sunday.

“Massive fish die off going on right now in Lake Merritt,” Tighe tweeted. “May be related to the huge algal bloom that’s been happening on the east bay since the start of the month in front of Alameda where effluent flows.” Tighe included a link to iNaturalist, a nature app that allows users to share their observations with other scientists and naturalists.

Massive fish die off going on right now in Lake Merritt #oakland #fish #lakemerritt

May be related to the HUGE algal bloom that’s been happening on the east bay since the start of the month in front of Alameda where effluent flows…https://t.co/1H1byxoWok pic.twitter.com/FJBAU0InIb

— Damon Tighe (@damontighe) August 28, 2022

The algal bloom likely leading to the mass fish death is Heterosigma akashiwo, which SF Baykeeper and the San Francisco Estuary Institute and Aquatic Science Center have been tracking since it appeared in the last month. The aquatic science center noted that fish-kill reports began emerging around August 22, though they noted the Bay’s size makes data gathering a “huge challenge.”

What has changed, Rosenfield said, is those reports finally coming in, as well as confirmation from field investigators this weekend.

The algal bloom that Rosenfield says is most likely causing the die-off is itself caused by a mix of climate change and human waste put out by wastewater treatment plants across the Bay Area. The red tide species of algae, Heterosigma, produces a toxin that is deadly to fish, and can also result in low dissolved oxygen levels in the water.

“So we’re not sure of which mechanism is operating here. Maybe it’s both,” Rosenfield said. But the same bloom has caused massive fish kills in other parts of the world, as well.

The change that spurred the bloom locally, Rosenfield said, was likely a tipping point in warming waters. The solution, then, is for wastewater treatment plants to begin recycling wastewater in far higher volumes than it does now.

An April 2022 report by the environmental group called the Pacific Institute described wastewater recycling as under-utilized across California. The group estimates that an additional 1.8 million to 2.1 million acre-feet per-year of municipal wastewater is available for reuse in California.

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, an avid swimmer with the South Beach Rowing Club, saw the red tide himself as he took a dip last week, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

“My wife said I can’t swim in there anymore,” said Peskin. “I told her about it. It was like swimming through rust.”

He’s started to see the problem on the shores, too. His constituents have already started sending him photos of dead fish on San Francisco beaches. Peskin’s district includes Fisherman’s Wharf and the Embarcadero, all areas with borders that touch the water. Peskin wants to ensure those areas, and beyond, see climate action.

“Our public utilities commission, which is our sewer purveyor, needs to quickly come up to strategies to how San Francisco can do its part in reducing discharges that can exacerbate red tides,” Peskin said.

Johnson, from the water quality control board, pushed back on the assertion that wastewater is to blame — the jury is still out, he says.

He says the water control board is spending $2.2 million annually to fund scientists studying the algal bloom to see if it is indeed caused by human wastewater.

“So if the solution is to ask the wastewater community to spend billions and billions of dollars for nutrients, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Johnson said. “But if the underlying causes are something else and if investing all that money isn’t going to solve the problem, we need to know that before we take that measure.”

Understanding what’s causing the algal bloom is crucial, Rosenfield said, because it is almost certainly not a one-off. Without preventative measures, this could be an annual occurrence, rising when the waters warm, and fading as they cool.

It’s already beginning to spook Rosenfield, who isn’t easy to spook — he’s been a senior scientist at SF Baykeeper for four years, and was a lead scientist at The Bay Institute for nearly 11 years.

What really rocked him was seeing a number of a particular white sturgeon, a rare fish part of a recreational fishery, show up dead on Stinson Beach.

They don’t wind up dead nearly as easily, being large, armored fish.

“Seeing that sturgeon is an indicator of a much larger problem,” he said.

Like a canary in a coal mine, but with scales.

The post Lifeless Fish Are Piling Up Throughout Shores of San Francisco Bay, Lake Merritt, as Algal Bloom Grows appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Along Highway 1 south of Half Moon Bay, the strip of blooming yellow mustard over the coastal hills turned into a gold mine for Iacopi Farms.

“Lots of people went in, so we just opened the gates and charged $ 10 each,” said Deborah Iacopi. “With COVID, a lot of people go crazy and want to go out and see something nice.”

As April comes, the temperature rage this week in the Bay Area ignited wildflower blooms early, say park rangers and field scouts.

“Seeing the wildflowers is a sign of hope,” said Rosemary Passantino at Marin County Parks and Open Space.

Even after strong winds, the blossoms throughout the region arrived from the northwest dried surface soils at the end of a lackluster rainy season. On the Iacopi farms, while the flowers are still stretching across the coastal farmland, they are nearing their peak, Iacopi said, and the farm could plow the flowers under the next week in favor of artichokes.

In much of the Bay Area, wild mustard and California poppies give the best.

Some of the best bags of wildflowers are San Bruno Mountain, Mount Diablo State Park, and the Chimney Rock Headlands at Point Reyes National Seashore. In the foothills of the Sierra, the blossoms are just beginning to burst in the river corridors and riparian zones, for example north of the Grass Valley in South Yuba State Park.

“Good flowers are showing up and should only get better when it gets warmer,” said Matthew Green, ranger for California State Park’s Sierra District. He recommended the Buttermilk Bend Trail along the South Yuba River.

On the flip side, many well-known wildflower destinations have become confused this spring.

A spectacular showpiece two years ago, Death Valley National Park received only 0.38 inches of rain at Furnace Creek this winter. Field scout Linda Stremel said she saw maybe six wildflowers in four days when she visited the park last week.

Another landmark, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in the San Joaquin Valley, received only 2 inches of rain this winter, rangers said. The hills are faded brown, with no poppies and only a slight pinch of red filaree.

Though Daffodil Hill near Sutter Creek, Amador County remains on the radar for many, the owners likely closed it two years ago after a rush of visitors and illegally parked vehicles blocked the access roads for emergency vehicles.

Wildflowers are always wild, depending on timing, soil moisture, temperature, wind speed and direct sun. These factors form a matrix that can ignite or suffocate flowers.

“Please add a note to stay on paths and not trample or pick the flowers,” advised Passantino at Marin County Parks and Open Space.

That said, here are the best views in the Bay Area.

San Francisco peninsula and coast

San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, just south of the San Francisco County line, has shown excellent diversity in a year when explosive blooms are less common, said Carla Schoof of San Mateo County Parks.

More than 15 species were identified at San Bruno Mountain last week, including California poppies, lupins, blue tails, violin necks, Douglas fir and Indian paintbrush, but also wallflowers, yellow arugula, sun cups and traces of spring.

Edgewood County Park in Redwood City also added a good splash of color, Schoof said. For the past week, rangers identified Henderson’s Shooting Star, California Manroot, California Poppy, Fremont’s Death Cameras, the Tongue of the Pacific Dogs, the Feather of the Warrior, and the Cat Clover.

Marin County

In northwest Marin, the Douglas iris flowers can be a show stopper, and the best bets are around Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay State Park.

“We’re currently enjoying the purple pops of the Douglas Iris,” said State Park Ranger Nick Turner.

At Point Reyes, the Chimney Rock Headland can be legendary – 90 species of wildflowers can make the springtime crowning glory. But winds from the northwest and warm temperatures stopped blooming. Chimney Rock and the nearby Point Reyes Lighthouse are still so attractive that the park service enforces a quota on weekends after the turn off on Drakes Beach Road.

Marin County Parks have the best views in Loma Alta, Baltimore Canyon, Ring Mountain, and Mount Burdell, Passantino said. The Ring Mountain Preserve on Paradise Drive in Corte Madera overlooking the Tiburon coast can be spectacular, she said.

“Expanses of gold fields, neat tips and other early bloomers make for a spring classic,” said Passantino. “The brightly colored flowers provide a foreground for spectacular views of the bay.”

East Bay hill

Mount Diablo State Park hikers shared their wildflower sightings through the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Bags of California poppies are often spotted along North Gate Road and Summit Road. The area around Murchio Gap, accessible via the Eagle Peak Trail or the Bald Ridge Trail, is often the most diverse. Flowers include poppy seeds, silver lupine, Pacific pea, periwinkle, and delphinium.

Among the 75 parks in the East Bay Regional Park District, Black Diamond, Anthony Chabot, Sunol, and the Briones-to-Diablo Trail are the best for wildflowers.

Of these, the Black Diamond Regional Preserve just south of Highway 4 near Pittsburg is number 1 – the Stewartville Trail can be one of the best shows in early April. Lupine, paintbrush, Ithuriel’s spear, blue tails and owl clover are among the sightings.

“Wildflowers are outside and seem almost normal even in the dry year,” said Dave Mason at the park headquarters. “April is the best time to see wildflowers in regional parks.”

Santa Clara County

This was a good spring for yellow mustard and California poppies over the foothills above the Santa Clara Valley. At the Santa Clara County Parks Headquarters, Tamara Clark suggested Calero, Santa Teresa, Coyote Lake, and Grant Counties.

Every April, Almaden Quicksilver County Park south of San Jose is a wild card. The Mine Hill Trail can be a spectacular show, and early April is best for monkey flowers. Other common early arrivals may include lupine, poppy seeds, buttercups, and, if you’re lucky, falling stars.

Tom Stienstra is the retired outdoor writer for The Chronicle. Email: tomstienstra2021@gmail.com. Twitter: @StienstraTom

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