:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/DJMO6WW7WBBNFFTKZ2ZEQHPJAI.jpg "They warn about the “red tide” on the beaches in the southern part of the country: what is this phenomenon and why is it dangerous? | sea | Lima | Gannet | Algae | Natural phenomenon | Risks | lime")
The only thing Eileen Quezada noticed on Pujama Beach the day Tadeo, a 9-year-old golden retriever, died, was the brown color of the sea foam. There was no warning of danger, and many bathers and waves were the norm at Gannet Beach, as it is every summer. No one would expect fulminant poisoning to cause five cardiorespiratory arrests in a pet that didn't survive a night. On that day, February 19, 2023, there were no warnings of toxic substances in seawater. A year later, despite the natural phenomena, they are absent and often repeat themselves along the entire coast.
The probabilities are high that Taddeo was intoxicated by the “red tide”. Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB), Also known as “aguajes”, “hemotalasia” or “Sea purges”. This natural phenomenon consists of a proliferation of microorganisms that, depending on their type, can be red, green, brown, yellow or brown. Depending on their species, these microbes can produce toxins and cause adverse reactions in humans or animals, including gastrointestinal conditions, paralysis and, in extreme cases, death.
As mentioned Peruvian Marine Corporation (IMARPE), depending on prevailing environmental conditions, HABs can last from days to months. Its proliferation depends on oceanographic and environmental characteristics such as increased solar radiation, temperature, availability of nutrients in the ocean, lack of wind or presence of wastewater. In fact, Imarbe recognizes that this phenomenon is increasing in the world “Because of climate change and pollution in some coastal areas.”
The problem is that the threat it represents is not pervasive. “In all of South America, we are the only country with a beach that does not have early warning protocols. “We're not asking for beaches to be closed, but when there are red tides, people can be warned to reduce risks.”, Elaine explains to El Comercio. Together with his sister and a group of Peruvian and foreign biologists, they created the “Tadeo Project”, which asks the Peruvian government to create Red Tide Early Warning Protocol, as happens in countries like Chile, Argentina, Ecuador or Mexico. on stage Change.org They already have a petition that has collected 14,900 signatures.
Presence of red tide this weekend
The “Tadeo Project” team identified through remote sensing, Several episodes of red tide only occur between February and March this year Inside Miraflores, Punta Hermosa, Pucusana, Mala and Paracas beaches. “There is a red tide right now in the Little South. Last weekend, we took two samples from Playa Norte and Playa Blanca in Punta Hermosa and the presence of toxic microorganisms was detected.Akashiwo is bloody“Quezada noted.
The findings are related to observations made by Spanish biologist Raquel Sánchez de Pedro, a seaweed expert collaborating with the project by the Copernicus EU satellite imager (Aquatic Plant Index). These images show the growth of algae from Lima to Ganade between March 5 and 15, 2024.
Likewise, citizen observations confirm the presence of brown water and foul odors on the beaches of Punta Hermosa a few days before the start of the long vacation, a date when visits to the beaches south of Chico increase.
From Imarpe, technical reports published on their website give an account Seven fan events this year. The most recent, on March 5, was recorded in Huacho Bay, where a red or “intense wine” color was evident. The species was discovered at this location Akashiwo Sangunia, They classify it as “non-venomous”, although another report on the same species but from February 8 and 16 states that “it secretes mucus that is harmful to filter-feeding species”.
Other finds were identified between February 1 and 21 on the coast of Carpaio del Gallo, in Simpot, in the Bay of Paracas, on the coast of Lumbec and in the Bay of Sechura.
Trade We have contacted IMARPE and the Directorate General of Environmental Health (DGESA) but have not received a response as of this writing. Digesa, the company responsible for the health assessment of the beaches of the Peruvian coast, includes red tide as one of the elements to take into account to classify a beach as healthy. Health Order No. 0 38 / in MINSA-DIGESA-V.02. “In the event of a red tide (change in the color of the sea), a sample should be taken to carry out the respective water biological analyzes to determine the micro-organisms causing this phenomenon. As a precautionary measure, people should be advised not to bathe at this beach until further notice from the health authority.
Neither of these organizations have commented on the recent presence of red tide on the beaches.
For its part, the National Fisheries Health Organization (Sanipes) has provided information to this newspaper Control and monitoring program including monitoring and analysis of seawater in bivalve mollusc production areas (including fans and others)For identification of marine phytoplankton, frequency (weekly, biweekly or monthly) is available.
“When HAB is detected, toxic or non-toxic, it is reported to the concerned decentralized health office (OSD) (according to the production area where HAB is detected) which can intensify health surveillance and coordinate with operators and companies. Imorphe”, They noted. “Even if concentrations of marine biotoxins are detected in hydrobiological resources, they do not exceed the maximum control limits (MLC).
If biotoxins exceed the LMC, “a contingency plan is applied and the extraction of bivalve molluscs from the production area is closed. This is immediately communicated to interested parties by email and through the Sanipes website,” they added.
Ethical role model
The Tadeo Project was born out of the tragedy of losing their pet to Eileen and her family. In the year since his death, experts from different countries have come together to A Information campaign on the dangers of red tide and demand early warning protocols from the authorities Includes detection, prevention, education, access protocols, extraction, human and veterinary medicine.
It all started with publishing the case on social networks, a testimony went viral and even reached television. This led others to report cases of poisoning due to exposure to contaminated water.
Tadio's death was initially linked to one of these episodes, as there was an avian flu alert in Peru at the time. However, an autopsy ruled out this possibility. “We have medical tests which prove that Taddeo was in perfect condition. There was nothing with him, he was a big dog, weighing 40 kg, and the doctors told us that they did not know what caused such a sudden poisoning. Avian flu and excess sodium were therefore ruled out and a necropsy was performed.” explains Elaine.
The networks' output reached algae expert Raquel Sánchez, who immediately reviewed the satellite images and verified that Bujama Beach was full of red tides. “He asked me the coordinates of the area and was able to locate the place It was infected with microalgae five days before and five days after Dadio's death. In the same way, many red waves have been detected.”Quezada explains.
Along with him and other experts on the subject, the Dadio project promotes the need for early identification of HAB episodes with the help of satellite images. Now they are asking the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health and Peru's Ministry of Production to jointly inform the public about this threat.
