Media Advisory: UMaine Oceanographer Available to Speak on Red Tide
Contact: Prof. Andrew Thomas (207) 581-4335
Tom Weber (207) 581-3777
ORONO — While red tide occurs regularly along Maine’s coast during the warm months, this summer is shaping up to be one of the worst seasons ever for the spread of the toxin-bearing algae blooms.
High levels of red tide have already forced closings of shellfish harvesting in Cobscook Bay and parts of the Down East coast, with the possibility of more to come, and state officials worry that the outbreak could surpass the especially damaging one in 2005 that stretched from northern Maine waters to Nantucket in Massachusetts.
Andrew Thomas, a University of Maine professor of oceanography who researches ocean plankton patterns, will be available until the middle of next week to answer questions from the media about the science behind the blooms of red tide that threaten the New England shellfish industry.
Thomas can be reached at his UMaine office at (207) 581-4335.