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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-07-17; Parks & Recreation Commission; 700-4; Agua Hedionda Lagoon / Algae InfestationPARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION - AGENDA BILL AB# 700-4 RECOMMENDED ACTION: STAFF: Sgt. Blackbum AGUA HEDIONDA LAGOON I MTG. DATE: 7/17/00 TITLE: INFO ALGAE INFESTATION ACTION Accept and file staff report. ITEM EXPLANATION: Biologists, working in conjunction 'with Cabrillo Power Plant have recentfy discovered a potentially destructive form of algae proliferating in-the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. According to an environmental specialist with the State Regional Water Quality Control Board, "this is the biggest threat that California coastal waters have ever faced." Referred to as a "Killer Algae," the threatening species exists within a half acre of the lagoon's east basin and has prompted State, Federal, and County agencies to form 'a batition with the purpose of eradicating the plant. Thisitem will be discussed by'Sergeant Keith Blackbum of thecarlsbad Police Department's Community Services Division. As the Commission is aware, the Police Depaitment assumes the patrol duties on the lagoon, and to the extent that this invasive non-native algae affects the jet '. skiing, water-skiing, and other boating recreation on the lagoon, staff will present this issue as an informational item at this time. EXHIBITS: 1. North County Times article(s): "Killer Algae Attacks Lagoon" "Planning Commission Briefed On Lagoon Algae. Threat" / '1 I a :ks Agua Hedionda Lagoon - NCTimes.net http://www.nctimes.com/news/07060O/nn.html Previous Stow 11 tieadlines (1 Next Story Our Best Links ,. - Killer algae attacks Agua What We Do v Hedionda Lagoon Keyword ., Search I J MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS fSearch Staff Writer Advanced CARLSBAD ---- Agua Hedionda Lagoon is the first water body in the Western Hemisphere to be invaded by an alien algae clone that has already wreaked havoc in the Mediterranean Sea, environmental officials said Wednesday. "This is the biggest threat that California coastal waters have ever faced," Greg Peters, an environmental specialist with the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, said at a news conference. "If you totaled all the damages that have been done by harmful pollution up'until now, the potential destruction of this invasive algae dwarfs all that. If it can't be controlled, it would destroy the entire coast." The recent appearance of a clone of the marine plant, Caulerpa taxifolia, within a half-acre area of the lagoon's east basin, prompted state, federal and county agencies to form a coalition with the power plant operator adjacent to the lagoon with the goal of eradicating the plant. Only "eradication" will halt the spread of the prolific algae, which grows and smothers the native flora and fauna in its path, said Bob Hoffman, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Long Beach. A popular aquarium plant, it was banned from importation and sale by U.S. authorities in 1999, but remains prevalent in home fish tanks, the officials said. They said the Agua Hedionda infestation likely resulted from the discarded contents of an aquarium. The officials urged residents to avoid dumping their tanks into storm drains and streams. The plant was discovered June 12 by biologists working for San Diego-based Merkel & Associates, which was hired by Cabrillo Power Plant to conduct the re-vegetation of the lagoon with eel grass and monitor its progress. "It would destroy all the lagoons and could destroy our coast and our seafood," said John Davis, the president of Carlsbad Aquaform Inc. The company grows mussels in the Agua Hedionda Lagoonk western basin. "It's a killer algae, that's all there is to it," Davis said. "It's very, very bad stuff, and we've got to stop it here." (j 174 'w EXHIBIT I . Killer algae attacks Agua Hedionda Lagoon - NCTimes.net http://www.nctimes.com/news/07060O/nn.html The coalition is considering a plan to enclose the infested area in an underwater tent and injecting chlorine, which appears to be effective in killing the algae, Hoffman said. While the chlorine would kill the other existing species within the tented area, the damage would be insignificant when compared with the threat of allowing the algae to survive, the agency specialists said. If successful, the algae could be eliminated within three months, the coalition's biologists said. - "What we're trying to avoid is the experience in the Mediterranean," Hoffman said. "We're well ahead of the curb this time, fortunately. Our plans are to treat it very aggressively and get rid of it." The plant has wiped out vast stretches of the natural ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea and has caused catastrophic economic damages since it was discovered along Monaco's shore about 16 years ago, information provided by the fisheries service states. By forming a thick, green carpet along the bottom of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, the plant could destroy the lagoon's native eel grass inhabited by many fish species, Hoffman said. If it reaches the ocean, the plant would threaten vital offshore kelp beds, Hoffman said. Because tiny fragments of the plant can regenerate exponentially, the species is easily spread by boat anchors and fishermen. "If we were unsuccessful in controlling this and it spread to our major port areas in Long Beach and Los Angeles, there could be a quarantine imposed on these facilities," Hoffman said. "It could have a dramatic economic impact." Merkel biologist Rachel Woodfield said that as Merkel's biologists examined the algae, they became alarmed. It probably has been growing within the lagoon for the past 18 months, Woodfield said. An attractive fernlike plant, the invasive algae was created by scientists cloning the tropical species, Caulerpa taxifolia, for display at the Stuttgart Aquarium in Germany. It was exported from there to other aquariums. When the clone was discovered in the wild off Monaco's shore, it caused no alarm because scientists then failed to realize the species' tremendous capacity for growth and its ability to withstand cold water, unlike the original species. A single stem of the Mediterranean species can grow more than 9 feet with up to 200 fronds, and the diameter of a patch can grow about 10 feet per year, the specialists stated. 7/6/00 2 of2 7/10/00 2:45 PM Rlanning Commission briefed on lagoon algae threat - NCTimes.net http://www.nctimes.com/news/070600/oo.html Previous Story 11 Headlines 11 Our Best Links - What We Do v Planning Commission briefed on lagoon algae Keyword Search I threat 1 f Search t ,. MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS Staff Writer CARLSBAD ---- Recreation in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon's east basin will be limited and may even be shut down eventually because of the discovery of an invasive nonnative algae there, the city Planning Commissioners learned Wednesday. Advanced A representative of Cabrillo Power, which is responsible for managing the lagoon adjacent to its electric plant, told the commissioners that jet skiing, water skiing and boating launched from the Snug Harbor Marina will be limited to areas away from a half-acre area containing the threatening algae. Cabrillo Power Secretary David Lloyd said the activities may have to be shut down entirely if the algae continues to spread or while eradication measures are underway. The briefing followed earlier press conferences in which state and federal officials publicized the threat of the plant, which biologists say comes from a species suffocating large areas of the Mediterranean Sea with its rapid growth. The threatening species was cloned from a non-threatening tropical plant, Caulerpa taxifo1ia;for use in saltwater aquariums. In the wild, it spreads rapidly and smothers flora and fauna in its path, government biologists say. The plant, which the U.S. government banned last year, was probably dumped into the lagcnn from a home aquarium, officials say. Lloyd said Cabrillo Power expects to spend a minimum of a half million dollars on monitoring the lagoon for the plant's spread and its eradication, which could take from two to three months. "We may have to dike the whole area off and de-water it," Lloyd said. "This stuff is worse than crab grass. It doesn't quit." Lloyd's presentation followed the Planning Commission's review of four items. The commission approved name changes for three streets in Poinsettia Shores, a development now being built along the city's 02G 1 of2 711 1/00 I0:28 AM PEanning Commission briefed on lagoon algae threat - NCTimes.net http:/~www.nctimes.com/news/O70600/oo.html southern coast, and the installation of a child-care center in east Carlsbad. The commission postponed approval of Oceanside's plans for a weir replacing the existing one controlling water flow and flooding from the Buena Vista Lagoon. Concerns over appearance led the commissioners to postpone consideration of a plan for 37-single-family, two-story homes planned in southwest Carlsbad. 7/6/00 2 of2 711 1/00 10:28 AM f USDA UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF -# ,NEWS RELEASE Contact: (Agencies: ) Bob Hoffinan (562) 980-4043 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Local:): Rachel Woodfield (858) 560-5465 July 5,2000 NOXIOUS AQUATIC SPECIES FOUND IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COASTAL WATERS (Federal, state, county agencies and private industry form partnership to eradicate foreign marine organism.) A coalition of ten federal, state, and county agencies, a power plant, and a private consulting firm have formed a task force partnership to eradicate a very invasive marine plant species, a form of alga, discovered for the first time anywhere in the Americas in a San Diego lagoon. "This aquatic species poses a very serious threat to all tropical and temperate coastal zone ecosystems anywhere in north or south America,," said a spokesperson for the coalition during a press briefing today in San Diego. During a monitoring dive of eelgrass beds in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad, California, biologists fiom Merkel and Associates, consultant to the Cabrillo Power Plant I, discovered the species, its identify later confirmed by consultant marine biologist Rachel Woodfield and her colleagues with further confirmation by leading experts. In describing the nature of the plant, known scientifically as CauZerpa tmcifolia, Woodfield said that a clone of the species, likely the same one as found here, caused tremendous ecosystem and economic damage in the Mediterranean Sea in costal areas of France, Spain, Monaco, and Italy. "Even a tiny piece broken off can regenerate a new plant, making eradication by mechanical means nearly impossible," said Woodfield. Fishing nets and boat anchors are believed to be primarily responsible for the spread of the plant throughout the Mediterranean. Some scientists have described the effect of the alga as similar to "...unrolling a carpet of 'astroturf' across the bottom of the sea." Caulerpa continues to expand in an uncontrolled manner in the Mediterranean today. The source of the dangerous invasive organism is suspected to be an accidental release fiom an aqeum. This species, although recently banned in many countries, including the United States, remains relatively common in private aquariums. "The present crisis underscores the .risks and potential impacts of introducing exotic species into native habitats," said Woodfield. Although extremely invasive and destructive to other marine plants, there is no danger to humans. However, it is imperative that thepublic avoid contact with theplant due to itr txtrem ease of recolonizing from just tiny fragmen&. - @.Release - cont.) 'Pg 2 An eradication strategy, announced today, consists of curtailing public access to infested areas; completion of comprehensive area sweys to include the Lagoon and nearshore area; thorough testing of potential herbicides and application techniques; and treatment of infested areas. After application of herbicide, complete removal of dead plants and associated will follow to ensure that all viable plant parts are removed. Long-term monitoring and on-going surveys will be completed to continue the eradication efforts as may be required. ## # Note to editors: PLEASE INCLUDE SOME FORM OF THE FOUOMiVG in your story. If this species is observed elsewhere, you are urged to immediately noti@ the coalition experts through your County Agriculture Department or the local office of the California Department ofFish and Game. The coalition is headed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, with other members providing essential resources and expertise on a problem that crosses many jurisdictional boundaries. (Noxious Algae Found in So. California Coastal Waters) BACKGROUND: Caulerpa taxifolia ( Summary excerpted from paper by: Rachel Woodfield, Merkel & Associates) An alien green algae (CauZerpa taxifolia has been discovered in Agua Hedionda Lagoon, a coastal in southern California located approximately 20 miles north of San Diego. An aggressive clone of this species has been highly invasive in the Mediterranean Sea, where the governments of France, Spain, Monaco, and Italy have been unable to control its spread. Because of its potential for damage to the environment, its import into the U.S. has been banned under federal law. Biologists at Merkel & Associates, a biological consulting fm in San Diego, collected this distinctive alga in a San Diego County lagoon while conducting research on a transplanted eelgrass bed. Rachel Woodfield, a marine biologist with Merkel & Associates, initially identified the alga. She has conferred with Dr. Paul Silva, Curator of Algae at the University of California’s Jepson Herbarium in Berkeley, and Alexandre Meinesz, an expert on the species, who have confmed it to be Caulerpa taxifolia. This species has never before been documented on the west coast of the Americas. .Ms. Woodfield is presently photographing and documenting its extent at the site and is exploring control and eradication efforts with experts on the species. Caulerpa taxifolia is a green alga native to tropical waters that typically grows in small, isolated patches. In the late 1970’~~ this species attracted attention as a fast-growing and decorative aquarium species that became popular in the saltwater aquarium trade. A clone of the species was cultured for display at the Stuttgart Aquarium in Germany and provided to aquariums in France and Monaco. Around 1984, this species was apparently inadvertently released hm the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco and rapidly spread from an initial patch of about one square meter to over a hectare by 1989, and has continued to spread to many thousands of hectares today. The alga has since spread to France and Spain and is today widespread throughout much of the northwestern Mediterranean. Recent genetic work suggests that all CauZerpa taxifoZia plants in the Mediterranean are clones of the single released saltwater aquarium plant. This clone can grow larger, deeper and in colder waters than the tropical populations of the species and, as such, threatens not only tropical areas, but temperate regions as well. It grows on almost any substrate fiom rocky to mud bottoms, and occurs across energy gradients hm protected bays to exposed headlands. It can dominate the area in a manner that has been compared to unrolling a carpet of “astroturf“ across the bottom of the sea. In areas where the species has become well established, it has caused ecological and economic devastation by overgrowing and eliminating native seaweeds, seagrasses, reefs, and other communities. In the Mediterranean, it has harmed tourism, destroyed recreational diving, and had a costly impact on commercial fishing, both by altering the distribution of fish as well as creating impediment to net fisheries. This Mediterranean clone can have a stolon (or stem) length of more that nine feet with up to 200 fionds, and spreads vegetatively and through fragmentation. It is reported to survive up to ten days out of the water. Fishing nets and boat anchors are believed to be primarily responsible for the dispersal of the species throughout the Mediterranean. Even a tiny piece broken off can regenerate a new plant, making eradication by mechanical means nearly impossible. Most attempts to remove it have failed, often resulting in an even more rapid and vigorous regrowth. This species has recently been reported near Sydney, Australia, smothering seagrass beds in a manner reminiscent of the invasion in the Mediterranean. Despite bans on its possession in France, Spain, and Australia, this dangerous organism continues to be transported and sold by the aquarium trade, and it was expected by many scientists to be only a matter of time before it appeared in U.S. waters. Recognizing this concern, Dr. Andrew Cohen, an expert on exotic species at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, spearheaded an effort to prevent its introduction into U.S. waters. In October 1998, over 100 prominent scientists petitioned the federal government to ban the importation, possession, and sale of this species in the U.S., leading to its designation in 1999 as a prohibited species under the Federal Noxious Weed Act. The discovery of this species in southern California confirms that it nevertheless continues to invade other valuable marine ecosystems, such as the ecologically rich eelgrass beds that thrive in many of our coastal lagoons. It is likely that the alga was released into the wild from an aquarium, a practice which is banned under California law. While genetic analysis is being conducted on specimens to determine whether the plant found in southern California is the Mediterranean clone or some other strain of Caulep taxvoolia, its discovery in these waters is of great concern. This alga poses a substantial threat to ecosystems currently thriving in OUT area, particularly to the extensive eelgrass meadows and other benthic environments that make coastal waters such a rich and productive environment for fish and birds. The eelgrass beds and other coastal resources that may be directly impacted by Caulerpa are at the base of a food web that is critical to the survival of numerous invertebrate and fish species, including the commercially and recreationally important spiny lobster, California halibut, and sand basses. This species has been reported to grow to depths in excess of 150 meters, and given its survival in higher energy areas within the Mediterranean, consideration should be given to its potential to expand fiom the coastal lagoons onto nearshore reefs of California. The dense carpet that this species can fom could inhibit the benthic establishment ofjuveniles of many species, including kelp and much of the rich animal life associated with giant kelp beds. Its establishment offshore could seriously impact commercial fisheries and navigation through quarantine restrictions that may need to be imposed in order to prevent the spread of this species. Due to the tolerance to cold that this clone has displayed, it could potentially expand even north of the Southern California area. ,To date, the distribution of the discovered Caulerpa is restricted enough that eradication may still be possible. Prevention of its spread to other coastal waters is imperative and immediate action is warranted. Experts in the study of Caulerpa, as well as federal and state agencies responsible for dealing with noxious invasions, have been contacted in order to formulate a clear plan for removing and preventing the spread of this alga. Merkel & Associates is presently searching other areas to determine the extent of invasion.