The brown tide bloom, which last occurred in 1999 in Barnegat Bay, appears to be on the rise again in southern Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor. Data from the DEP show that the brown tide counts from the week of June 8 ranged from one and half million to over two million cells per milliliter (mL). Brown tide cell concentrations over one million per mL represent full bloom conditions and will discolor water a yellowish brown. While cell concentrations reached a high of 2.2 million cell per mL in Little Egg Harbor locations on June 15 and were still approximately a million cells per mL on June 29 near Ship Bottom, cell counts decreased below bloom concentrations by July 12 in these locations. Currently, the brown tide bloom has subsided in Little Egg Harbor and southern Barnegat Bay, but secondary blooms later in the summer or early fall are possible as they were reported in past years in Long Island Bays.

Caused by the minute alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens, the brown tide organism does not pose a hazard to human health, but may have serious ecological impacts. The appearance of brown water in Barnegat Bay was first observed as early as 1985. However, because of its minute size (about 2.5- 3.0 micrometers in diameter), the occurrence of A. anophagefferens, was not confirmed until the mid-1990s using an immunofluorescent procedure. Since the mid-1990s, there have been no readily available data on the occurrence or numbers of brown tide.

In response to the reported 1999 brown tide bloom, the DEP is conducting an assessment of the occurrence of brown tide blooms this year. Dr. Mary Downes Gastrich, in the Division of Science, Research and Technology, is heading up the assessment and has put together the following team of scientists and managers from the state to study the problem:

• DEP's Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring is participating by collecting water samples at selected locations in Barnegat Bay, Little Egg Harbor, Great Bay and other locations as part of the NJ Water Quality Network.

• The U.S. EPA is collecting water samples bi-weekly for the DEP during the summer.

• The U.S.Geological Survey is providing information on nutrient loading which will help assess a possible relationship with the occurrence of brown tide blooms.

• The brown tide will be enumerated by Dr. David Caron of University of Southern California, formerly of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, using his newly developed monoclonal procedure that provides accurate results within one day of collection. This will provide the DEP with data to track blooms and guide future monitoring for assessing the long-range distribution of brown tide in relation to water quality parameters.

• The DEP's Bureau of Shell Fisheries is also participating because of the potential reduction in juvenile hard clam growth caused by brown tide blooms.

• Dr. Rick Lathrop of Rutgers University's Center for Spatial Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis will provide maps of the brown tide distribution and other water quality parameters, including nutrients, collected this year.

• Dr. Bologna, of the Rutgers University's Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, stationed at the Rutgers Marine Field Station at Tuckerton, is studying the effects of "wasting disease" of eelgrass in Barnegat Bay, including links to other possible stressors.

• Dr. Downes Gastrich is collaborating with O.R. Anderson, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and Dr. Elizabeth Cosper (Cosper Environmental Studies Inc.) on the occurrence of viral infections in natural populations of A. anophagefferens in Barnegat Bay, which may prove to be useful in understanding bloom dynamics and bloom management.

Brown tides have occurred periodically in the south shore bays of Long Island and Peconic Bay over the past decade with varying intensity, duration and geographic area. A. anophagefferens, which means a "golden brown sphere causing the lack of feeding" is a golden-brown alga (Pelagophyceae) that has caused the following impacts:

• Extended blooms have reduced eelgrass beds in Long Island bays. Eelgrass beds are important ecological habitats because they provide nursery habitat for finfish and shellfish. Over 70% of New Jersey's eelgrass beds are found in Barnegat Bay. Brown tide blooms lasting longer than one and one half months may cause damage to these important habitats in New Jersey.

• In Long Island bays, brown tide blooms caused mass mortality of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, and negative impacts to other shellfish (e.g., oysters, blue mussels) and the bay anchovy.

• In Barnegat Bay, a 1995 brown tide bloom was associated with reduced growth in the juvenile hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, as reported by the Biosphere, Inc., a commercial aquaculture facility for hard clams in Tuckerton.

The DEP expects to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution of these blooms and to relate their occurrence in relation to specific water quality parameters and distribution of natural resources (e.g., eelgrass) as part of the Brown Tide Assessment Project. It is hoped that the information gained may lead to strategies to reduce and manage future blooms. For more information about the DEP Brown Tide Assessment Project or to receive a copy of the Brown Tide Newsletter, please contact Dr. Mary Downes-Gastrich in the Division of Science, Research and Technology at (609) 292-1895 (e-mail: mdownesg@dep.state.nj.us), or access the DSRT website at: www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr. To report an algal bloom, please contact the DEP at 1-877-WARNDEP (1-877-927-6337).