Bay Area red tide crisis ends, watchdog group declares algae bloom over
The red tide that gave East Bay waters a light brown sheen earlier this month is likely over, declared the environmental watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper Monday. “I would say this bloom is done for now,” said the group’s staff scientist Ian Wren on a boat under the eastern half of the Bay Bridge, where the water was olive green instead of a murky tea color brought on by the bloom. … Even though the red tide has dissipated, Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, is hesitant “to declare victory.” … Last year the red tide — literally billions of tiny algae called Heterosigma akashiwo — killed an immeasurable amount of fish. This year, the algae killed fewer than 100, according to a state-run citizen science project. Sitings of important Bay Area species, including sturgeons, bat rays and crabs, were among the dead.