Letters

In an uncharacteristic manner, the scientific community has given two meanings to the term “harmful algae blooms.” Do you know the difference between what causes an excessive bloom of the good algae that form the base of a productive bay and a bloom of algae that are toxic?

It is universally accepted that too much nitrogen can cause excessive blooms of good algae that could block sunlight and cause low oxygen. The accepted strategy is to reduce nitrogen or add more filter feeders such as shellfish to the system.

However, toxic algae are different and can thrive at low levels of nitrogen. This is very important to us because our eastern bays now have some of the lowest levels of nitrogen loads in the country. We are also, and not coincidently, the epicenter for blooms of toxic algae. And it is getting worse!

My goal has always been to return our bays to recent levels of productivity; this requires a strong base of good algae. However, somehow we have allowed a strategy of nitrogen reduction to become the goal for controlling two extremely different types of algae. If we continue to demonize nitrogen, we may someday accomplish that goal of nitrogen reduction but our bays will remain unproductive and prone to continuing blooms of toxic algae.

Ask supporters of nitrogen reduction: What is their goal for our bays? Then let them defend their strategy that we can somehow starve the toxic algae while nurturing the good.

Roger C. Tollefsen

Hampton Bays