Comments on: Red Tide off Del Mar, San Diego Coast

By: Broots

Broots — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:02:05 +0000

I’m a nood at beaches and I am moving to Carlsbad soon… My wife is all hyped about the beaches and the way she speaks is that she’ll be spending all her days there with the kids. I’m concerned about jellyfish and I am wondering what else is dangerous in the waters… Are jellyfish there during a specific period of time or is it random… And should I really worry about that stuff ?

By: Kite

Kite — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:19:50 +0000

As http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/learning/learning_res/creature_features/redtide.cfm says, “The species usually responsible for the red tide off San Diego’s coast is not known to be toxic and should pose no health hazard. Locally, the last recorded toxic bloom was in 1902.” Our red tides don’t cause those massive fish kills, and the organism responsible has been repeatedly reported as non-toxic.

By: Kerrilynn Yaali-Benson

Kerrilynn Yaali-Benson — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:50:45 +0000

Hi, this reply is quite late, but I think this will be useful info for future red tides.
I came across this blog while simply surfing and I am amazed at the fact that alot of people don’t know what a red tide is, and more concerned at the fact that people have swam “in” the red tide. I’m confused as to why there was no warning posted on the beach or did the swimmers simply ignore the warning signs?
(I am a graduate in Marine Sciences and my research thesis was on the organism that causes the red tide)
In reference to David’s posting above regarding the red tide phenomenon, I’d like to add a few things. The phytoplankton that cause red tide produce toxins that kill fish by the hundreds, and ingesting any shellfish that might have grazed on these phytoplankton may cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. While there is no hard evidence or research ( i haven’t come across any lately) that specifically show how people react when in direct contact with these organisms, there have been anecdotal evidence and reports that people who swim in red tides or inhale air dispersed with these toxins have experienced symptoms ranging from the flu-like sneezing and coughing, shortness of breath, temporary nausea, skin rashes, giddiness and irritation of the eyes, therefore, it is not really a coincidence(This is info for mkell, post July 16th)..which would make sense, since the plankton produces some they “could” become slightly aerosolised when crashed around by waves, swimmers, etc. So I wouldn’t advice people to go out there and play..
Swimming in the tides may be fun and not fatally dangerous,but if you don’t feel like ruining your surfing/ holiday/ whatever, its probably best to stay out of the algal bloom. Scientists don’t call it “Harmful Algal Bloom” for nothing.

By: kitch

kitch — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 02:08:06 +0000

I live on silver strand and have noticed the red tides, but today I have noticed a very foul odor, especially around the Naval Amphibious Base. Is this smell coming from the water?

By: nk

nk — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:11:49 +0000

can someone tell me when it’s leaving?

I’m sick of this - I think there was one nice weekend so far this summer when the ocean was “normal” and there were no jelly fish.

By: Buckaroo

Buckaroo — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 02:52:29 +0000

This morning, the blue glow of red tide was not as strong as it was the previous weekend.

By: cynlouhoo

cynlouhoo — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 23:18:28 +0000

We visited Mission Beach on August 10th and were very disappointed to see the red tide AND the jellyfish! We only had one day on our trip for the beach, so we went in despite the yukky water. I did NOT enjoy seeing those black jelly fish around me every now and then and not being able to watch where they were. One big purple striped jellyfish was spotted close to the shore and created quite a stir. Hopefully the next time we visit San Diego we are able to enjoy clear water. I’m sure it is very beautiful.

By: jp

jp — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 07:40:26 +0000

I went surfing at Del Mar today and experienced this nasty red tide for the first time.
It was horrible, especially with those rare black jelly fish visit of this yr. You can’t see what’s in the water… I had some minor burning sensations, but nothing significant.

By: Silvertooth

Silvertooth — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 00:07:27 +0000

I was in Carlsbad this past weekend and saw it–unbelieveable! We went to old Carlsbad Village away from the lights, and in we went! Shorts and bikinis came off and we had a blast watching our parts leave a glowing trail. Moving your hand through the water is enough to cause the reaction so it looks like you’re surrounded by blue LEDs under the surface. The only side effects were sleepiness, nausea, and dry mouth the next day, but that may have been from the vast amounts of alcohol before we went in. If you can get in the water while this is happening, you’ve GOT to experience it!

By: Danny

Danny — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 14:15:03 +0000

I’ve read that the San Diego red tides are harmless, but each time I’ve gone surfing during the red tides, I have experienced congestion, and muscle aches the following day (similar to mild flu symptoms). Anyone else have similar experiences?