Opinion | Editorials
Red Tide needs a thorough study
Action against the phenomenon will be useless without scientific investigation.
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:08 April 7, 2009
The Red Tide is a natural phenomenon, which has occasionally manifested itself off the UAE coast for many years. This year, however, the huge scale and long period of time has made the bloom a major issue.
Given favourable weather and water conditions, the red-coloured algae is prone to suddenly multiply in huge numbers, which has resulted in the huge red blotches in the sea.
The algae are toxic and harm fish which eat them. Human beings, who eat the contaminated fish, are likely to suffer from food poisoning. In addition, anyone coming into contact with the algae-infested waters, such as swimmers, experience stinging pain.
The algal bloom has been spotted off the Oman and Fujairah coast in the Arabian Sea for many months, as well as off Ras Al Khaimah in the Gulf waters. It is only recently that it has spread so close to Dubai, and is still drifting down towards Abu Dhabi.
There must be a reason why the bloom has become so large, and the government must make it a priority to commission scientific studies to investigate the root cause of the problem.
Ill-informed speculation will serve no purpose. Action against such a widespread phenomenon will not be easy, and will be useless without expert knowledge to ensure its effectiveness.
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