Red tide puts strain on Northeast

Shell fishers say the timing of the algae bloom could not be worse - not just because demand is reaching its peak, but because college students depend on digging for summer jobs. Shannon Eldredge, a lifelong digger who hosted the meeting at her family's home, just graduated from college - paid for by scholarship, loans, and summers working on the flats.

While fishermen in other communities may be accustomed to toxin-related closures, Chatham is known as a pristine system that rarely shuts down. "We don't have a Plan B," says year-round shell fisher Peter Schimmel.

Some are turning to carpentry or painting homes. Many are taking up other types of fishing. But Moore, who has been a fisherman for 30 years, says that with stricter regulations on the offshore fishery, "it's not as much of an option as it used to be."

Scientists don't know when the red tide will ebb but expect that at least another month could pass before life for clam diggers, restaurateurs, and hungry tourists returns to normal. "Our problem [in estimating] is that ... [the red tide is] going farther than we've ever seen," says Don Anderson, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod. One long-term impact, he continues, could be the bloom's cysts dropped in the region, potentially leading to future outbreaks.

This red tide differs from those of Florida, where the air often smells and the water turns red. In the Northeast, the term can be misleading, says Dr. Anderson - and potentially dangerous: New Englanders tend to say, "Well, the water isn't red, therefore it's got to be safe."

But toxin levels reported in parts of Chatham are such that eating just a fraction of a plateful of contaminated clams could be fatal - though Anderson emphasizes that no restaurants are allowed to serve contaminated food, that it is safe to swim, and that other seafood like lobster is not affected.

Still, restaurants are battling fear and facing a dwindling supply of shellfish. At the Chatham Squire, a seafood restaurant in Chatham's center, manager Ned Webster says he'll have to import some shellfish from waters farther north, including those in Canada, which will drive up costs. And even then, steamers - their specialty - will be missing. "We wouldn't bring those down from anywhere else," he says.

Even with fewer fish in their bellies, many here are trying to take the news in stride. Mr. Webster says he received a call from a woman in Albany, N.Y., planning a summer vacation. She wanted to know if it was safe to swim at the beach - or even visit the summer haven. He said yes.

At Larry's P.X. restaurant, where shell fishers congregate at dawn most days, humor is easing the wait. As cashier Sheryl Proctor explained that residents, at least, are not worried about contamination, a waitress piped in: "They all ask about the Red Tide [dish]. They think it's a special."

To which a customer added: "Yeah, the special Red Tide roll."

Page: 1 | 2