Killer Algae Invades Southern Cal Environment News Service 7:00 a.m. Jul. 7, 2000 PDT SAN DIEGO, California -- A mutant algae responsible for killing marine life throughout the Mediterranean has now invaded the seas off San Diego. The ocean weed smothers marine plants and animals, and releases a toxin that can destroy the eggs of many smaller species. Divers monitoring the growth of transplanted eel grass discovered the algae on June 12 in a lagoon near the Cabrillo Power Plant I. That plant pledged earlier this year to restore marine habitat off of Carlsbad, California, about 20 miles north of San Diego. ";This algae eliminates kelp beds and poses an extreme danger to flora and fauna in the area,"; said Robert Hoffmann, Southern California environmental coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The algae, Caulerpa taxifolia, has destroyed more than 10,000 acres of Mediterranean seabed habitat off of France, Spain, Monaco, and Italy. Patches of the algae discovered there in the 1980s were not immediately destroyed, allowing the rapidly growing weed to spread. The algae has also found a foothold in the waters off Sydney, Australia. This is the first time the algae has been discovered anywhere along the coasts of North and South America. So far, it has been detected only in the Agua Hedionda lagoon, where the largest patch measures 60 feet by 30 feet. Nine smaller patches have also been discovered. Scientists are moving quickly to destroy the algae. Caulerpa taxifolia is native to tropical waters in the Caribbean and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The fast growing toxic variety of the natural plant, responsible for environmental devastation and severe loss of biodiversity everywhere it has invaded, is believed to have resulted from human intervention. Researchers believe the toxic algae was developed as an aquarium plant by biologists at the Stuttgart Zoo aquarium in Germany. Other aquariums adopted the bright green, fernlike plant as a cover for their artificial seabeds as well. The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco apparently dumped some of the algae into the Mediterranean in 1984, where it spread to cover 1,000 acres by 1992, and more than 10,000 acres by 1999. ";It's beautiful,"; said Greig Peters, an environmental specialist with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in San Diego. ";Maybe that's the reason people in the Mediterranean were lulled into not taking immediate action."; Caulerpa drives out most sea life, carpeting the ocean floor and using up oxygen in the water. The algae smothers fisheries and clam beds, and prevents animals from grazing on invertebrates in bottom muds. Corals, sponges, and seaweeds are all smothered by its advance. A toxin in the algae can kill the microscopic marine organisms that form the basis for most marine food chains, and harm the eggs of marine animals. In 1999, President Bill Clinton banned the import and sale of Caulerpa in the U.S under the federal Noxious Weed Act. But hobbyists can still buy the algae from aquarium dealers, warned Hoffman. When these hobbyists clean their tanks and dump the salt-water contents down storm sewers, the algae can spread to the wild ocean. This danger was among those pointed out by almost 100 environmental scientists who signed a letter that triggered Clinton’s executive order against the algae. In the 1998 letter to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, the scientists warned that the adaptable algae can grow to ocean depths of 250 feet (100 meters), on rocky or sandy sea bottoms, and in protected bays and lagoons. ";Allowing the release of this organism into the Mediterranean was an act of environmental mismanagement that threatens catastrophic changes and the loss of biological diversity in one of the most valued marine ecosystems,"; the scientists wrote. Now that Caulerpa is here, officials have little time to control its spread. ";Effects on commercial and recreation fishing in the coastal areas would be severe,"; said Hoffman. ";This is a very fast growing species."; Officials can not simply dig up the patches of Caulerpa in the California lagoon. The algae spreads through fragmentation, meaning each small piece of the plant can regenerate an entire new plant. Each plant stem can grow to be nine feet long, carrying up to 200 fronds. Caulerpa can survive for up to 10 days out of water, reviving and regenerating when high tides or runoff sweep it back into the sea. Marine biologist Rachel Woodfield, who found the algae in the Agua Hedionda lagoon, said fishing equipment, including nets, hooks, and boat anchors, can help spread the algae. ";Even a tiny piece of the algae broken off can regenerate a new plant, making eradication by mechanical means nearly impossible,"; Woodfield said. Federal, state, and private specialists are testing several chemicals they hope will destroy the plant. In the nine small areas where Caulerpa has taken root, scientists plan to cover the areas with tarpaulins and saturate them with chlorine or copper sulfate, killing everything under the tarps. The largest patch may pose more of a problem, but Hoffman said the team hopes to begin attacking all the algae within the next two weeks. In the meantime, the half-acre patch of the lagoon invaded by the algae has been roped off and placed under 24-hour guard to keep the public out. The public is urged to notify the California Department of Fish and Game if they observe Caulerpa anywhere along the California coast. ";It could have a drastic impact on fishing, recreation, and endangered species,"; said Hoffman. ";It's very bad news."; <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
