2013 Lake Erie algal bloom will be significant: NOAA

Satellite image of 2011 bloom, the most severe in decades.
(Photo Credit: MERIS/NASA; processed by NOAA/NOS/NCCOS )

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its research partners predict that the 2013 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom (HAB) season will have a significant bloom of Cyanobacteria, a toxic blue-green algae, this summer. The predicted bloom is expected to be larger than last year, but considerably less than the record-setting 2011 bloom.

Bloom impacts will vary across the lake’s western basin. This marks the second time NOAA has issued an annual outlook for western Lake Erie.

“This annual forecast and NOAA’s weekly bulletins provide the most advanced ecological information possible to Great Lakes businesses and resource managers so they can save time and money on the things they do that drive recreational activities and the economy,” said Holly Bamford, Ph.D., NOAA’s assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service.

Fish Info & Services

08 Jul 2013

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