Every sad story starts out with someone getting hosed
and is supposed to end with the bad guys finally getting
their just desserts. I don’t think that’s going to be a
player here.
Some time back yours truly wanted to go south into Florida
for a month or so and catch a few bass and crappie, but my
funds were a little limited. I searched the net for some
cheap digs that the roaches wouldn’t carry me away in,
hopefully in an area that the hurricanes hadn’t completely
destroyed.
Lake Okeechobee’s fishing had been devastated for the time
being so I settled on the Harris chain of lakes just north
of Orlando. I had fished those years ago. I found a trailer
that a hard-up fish camp on Lake Griffin was willing to rent
for four hundred dollars a month, boy that should have been
a clue.
Three days after I arrived on Lake Griffin I hadn’t been able
to catch one bass or crappie after eight hours a day trying.
I thought I knew how to fish that type of southern lake, but
obviously I had a few things to learn. I was the only fisherman
in the fish camp and the owner was never present so I went into
town and stopped at a tackle shop and threw myself on their
mercy, bought the obligatory few lures and asked what was wrong.
I was told that the state had treated the lake to destroy some
algae that was trying to take it over and fishing had suffered.
I tried a couple of other lakes in the chain but the fishing
was terrible. After a few sixty mile trips to Orange Lake, where,
I did fairly well, I got badly sunburned and packed up and went
home. Not a great trip. The fish camp owner even stuck a few
extra charges on for good measure.
While casually searching the net at home later I discovered
the truth. According to the articles I read Lake Griffin, like
80% of Florida’s lakes had been invaded by a toxic blue green
algae (Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii) from India by way of
Australia and a half a dozen tropical countries. Subjected to
high phosphate run off the lake had a tremendous algae bloom
in the 90’s and from '95 to '97 people started to notice the
dead alligators. It’s really hard to miss a dead gator. Look at
the top of the page again. More than 450 large alligators (longer
than 5 feet) have died of “unknown” (my quotes) causes since
alligator mortality studies were initiated in December 1997.
There is evidence the mortality began prior to May 1997. Unusual
numbers of dead soft-shell turtles and long nosed gar have been
found. Sick alligators are lethargic and show peripheral nerve
damage and brain lesions. Local shore birds also exhibit the
same neurotoxic symptoms. Lake Apopka lost its resident population
of pelicans. Entire year classes of bass and crappie have
disappeared. There are effectively no bass in the lake. Catfish
seemed not to be affected as much.
I was hot. The fish camp owner was also head of the water
district for central Florida. He had to know. The reason
he got that job was so that he could put pressure on the
government to do something to Lake Griffin to rescue his
fish camp. With no fish in the lake I understood why I was
the only one there. Somehow he just neglected to really tell
me about the toxic nature of the algae in the lake, along
with the bait and tackle shops in town. There were signs up
at the lake and tackle shops, but they didn’t convey the
serious nature of the problem. Old Rupe had been storied
to. The state hadn’t affected the fishing on the chain of
lakes, the algae had wiped out most of the wildlife that
swam, walked, or flew in Lake Griffin, and part of the
contents of the rest of the chain. The more I read the
nastier it got. Alligator hatch rates had dropped to less
than 10% as compared to normal lakes hatch rates of 70-90%.
This lowered hatch rate has shown up in other lakes to
varying degrees. When I read those lakeside warnings I
had no idea how it really was.
Clindrospermopsis is distributed throughout the water column,
in fact a serious bloom may only present as a deep green-brown
color. Most articles associated toxicity with the presence of
a bloom, though that’s no guarantee. Sometimes the algae is
toxic and sometimes its not. The algae and its toxins are
poorly understood, and the assays for the toxins involved
(cylindrospermopsin, anatoxin-a and saxitoxin) are expensive
and only done in a few places. It isn’t clear to me that the
investigators have a clue as to what aspect of the algae is
causing the observed physical effects. It affects different
organs in different animals, i.e. nerve tissue in alligators
and birds and liver tissue in humans. There are two forms of
the algae present, a curved form and a larger more toxic
straight form. Some strains of the algae are more toxic than
others. The algae is very small sometimes attaining
concentrations of 200,000 per ml and showing no smell or taste.
It has killed alligators, bass, crappie, pelicans, cattle,
sheep and dogs and maybe humans. It is believed that it
might be the cause of a debilitating and sometimes fatal
human disease in northern and central outback Australia
known as Barcoo Spews. In 1979 following copper sulfate
treatment in a reservoir to eradicate Cylindrospermopsis
in Palm Island, Australia, almost 150 people had to be
hospitalized for liver damage after drinking water from
that reservoir. Lacing the cells with the copper sulfate
releases the toxins into the water. Drinking water strategies
generally are not effective. In fact Florida doesn’t require
its’ water treatment plants to test for algal toxins, and
Florida has 45 marine/esturine and 15 freshwater toxic algae.
Russian roulette with a faucet?
Cylindrospermopsin (the toxin) was detected in
34 lakes, many samples were lethal to mice in bioassay. Buy stock
in Budweiser and bottled water. Where it’s moderately blooming
even swimming in it can cause stomach problems and skin rashes.
Inhaling water with the algae in it has caused respiratory
problems. Alligators have not presented with liver damage,
but have shown peripheral nerve damage and brain lesions along
with a 50% reduction in a nerve transmission rate. I don’t
care how much the state of Florida would like the problem
to be the result of something beside
Cylindrospermopsis they can’t hide their dead
mother in the freezer forever. Since it only affects large
alligators that would imply toxin accumulation. Does it
accumulate in humans too? I almost forgot, it may be genotoxic
and carcinogenic also.
The really bad news is that Cylindrospermopsin
isn’t restricted to one lake in Florida, or just Florida.
It’s spreading nationwide. See Ann St.Amand’s excellent
article Cylindrospermopsis: An Invasive Toxic Algae and
notice the nice map of the distribution of the algae.
So, as Paul Harvey says, “And now the rest of the story.”
It’s not the problem. It’s the cover up.
Officials say there is no evidence of death in humans and
fail to mention observed lesser toxic effects. The truth
is the diagnosis of Cylindrospermopsis poisoning
is almost impossible to make. Only a few places can do the
expensive assay and the toxicity mimics natural causes. Some
of the toxins in the algae are neurotoxins. Are we missing
the causes to many fibromyalgia and Parkinson’s Syndrome
cases? How many “snow birds” get sick after they return
home and either die or never return to Florida? No doctor
up north would make the connection, or in Florida either.
I was asked, “Do you think Florida minimizes the problem
like they did the mugging of tourists in rest areas and
in airport rental cars?”
Would they let those poor goobers fishing for their lunch
do so in ignorance? Would they intentionally minimize the
press reports on the problem? What could I say?
My reply was, “Not for a measly trillion or two. Maybe for real money, but
not for chump change.” Maybe ruining the states tourist income
isn’t in the national interest, but from the research I have
done it looks like someone made the decision on how to handle
toxic algae. Minimize, minimize, minimize.
After all goobers always get sick and die. ~ 'Old rupe
P.S. They sell Blue-Green Algae as a nutritional supplement.
It has been found to be occasionally contaminated with trace
amounts of Microcystis, a toxic algae. The
potential effects of these trace toxins is unknown.
Publisher’s Note: Following is a list of the research
'Old rupe read before sending this article in to us. He included
the Internet citation for each in the hope you will read them also.
NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
Harmful Algal Bloom Event Response
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Centers/HumanHealth/hab/EventResponse/StateDirectory.php
Cylindrospermopsis: An Invasive Toxic Alga
Ann St. Amand
https://www.nalms.org/lakeline/pdf/ll22-1_st_amand.pdf
Livestock poisoning by blue-green algae
By Susie Wood, Massey/Victoria University, and
Kathy Parton, Pathology group, IVABS, Massey University
https://www.vets.org.nz/publicat/vetscript/articles/articlemar03.pdf
Cylindrospermopsin [CASRN 143545-90-8]
Review of Toxicological literature
Submitted by Bonnie Carson M.S.
Integrated Laboratory Systems
Prepared for Scott Masters Ph.D.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Final Report December 2000
https://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/Cylindrospermopsin.pdf
Frequently Asked Questions on Cylindrospermopsis
and other Potential Toxin-Producing Blue-Green Algae in Indiana Waters
Indiana Division of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife Web Site
https://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/fish/cylind.htm
Effect of Toxic Algae on Alligators and Alligator Egg Development
USGS Water Resources Research Grant Proposal
James P. Ross. University of Florida, Water Resource Center
https://water.usgs.gov/wrri/00grants/99pdfdocs/florida.pdf
Assessment of Effects of Diet and Thiamin on Lake Griffin Alligator Mortality
James P. Ross Et al
Final report to St. Johns River Water Management District 30 November 2003
Contract #SF624AA
https://sjrwmd.com/programs/outreach/pubs/techpubs/pdfs/SP/SJ2003-SP2.pdf
Diet and Condition of American Alligators (Alligator
mississippiensis) in Three Central Florida Lakes
Amanda N. Rice
University Of Florida Masters Thesis, 2004
https://wildflorida.org/gators/research/Rice_A.pdf
Frequently asked Questions about Cylindrospermopsis
Arizona Department of Game and Fish, Health Services and Environmental Quality
https://www.azdeq.gov/function/news/2004/fish.pdf
Severe hepatotoxicity caused by the tropical cyanobacterium
(blue-green alga) Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii
(Woloszynska) Seenay Raju isolated from a domestic water supply reservoir.
P R Hawkins et al
Applied and environmental microbiology
1985 November, 50(5):1292-1295
Pub Med Central
https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=238741
Monitoring Changing Toxigenicity of a Cyanobacterial
Bloom by Molecular Methods
Judith A. Baker
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
2002 December, 68(12) 6070-6076
Pub Med Central
https://pubmed-central.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=134434&rendertype=abstract
06.21.2000 Algae Possible Cause of Increased Alligator Deaths in Lake Griffin
Ed Hunter
University of Florida IFAS News
https://news.ifas.ufl.edu/archstory.php?id=0322
Lake Griffin Alligator Die-Off: An Overview
Alligator Management Program
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
January 20, 2005
https://myfwc.com/gators/research/griffin.htm
The Toxic Algae Threat in Florida - A more Tempered View
Dr. Ed Philips University of Florida IFAS
https://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/ToxicAlgae/ToxicAlgae.htm
A Wave of Momentum for Toxic Algae Study
Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume 109, Number 4, April 2001
https://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYP/is_4_109/ai_77276729
Cyanobacteria and their Toxins
Phd David Stone
Oregon Department of Human Services
https://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/docs/Cyanobacteria.ppt
Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water: A Guide to their Public
Health Consequences, monitoring and management
Edited by Ingrid Chorus and Jamie Bartram
https://www.who.int/docstore/water_sanitation_health/toxicyanobact/begin.htm#Contents
Blue-Green Algae Bloom Management
NSW Murray Regional Algal Coordinating Committee
Blue-Green Algae Management Protocols
Published by the Water Directorate, 2001
https://www.murraybluegreenalgae.com/detailed_biology.htm
Originally published September 18, 2005 on Fly Anglers Online by 'Old rupe.