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Feb 2, 2007
'Red tide' wipes out thousands of fish off Bali coast
JAKARTA - TOXIC plankton has killed thousands of fish in waters off the Indonesian resort island of Bali, an official said yesterday.
The 'red tide', or algal bloom, has contaminated the sea in the Tabanan district, the head of the Bali Fisheries Office, Ida Bagus Putu Wisnawa Manuaba, said.
'The fishes' mass death is a natural phenomenon caused by the El Nino-induced storm which moved from the Pacific Ocean to the Indonesian waters,' Mr Manuaba was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying.
'The El Nino-induced storm triggered the growth of toxic plankton called red tide.'
He said the toxic plankton had turned the sea red and yellow.
People living near the two beaches were warned not to eat the dead fish or swim in the waters, he said.
Reports said the main tourist beaches at Kuta and Legian further south were not affected.
Researchers collected samples of the dead fish, sea water and plankton to investigate the deaths, Antara said.
It is not clear what causes red tides.
Water pollution is often cited as a culprit but the El Nino weather phenomenon, which brings about an increase in sea water temperatures, has been linked to red tides in the Pacific Ocean.
Just last week, areas around the Sorsogon Bay in the Philippines were declared to be under a state of calamity because of a red tide. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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