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People in Hawke’s Bay are being advised not to swim or collect shellfish after algal bloom appeared along the shoreline near Te Awanga and Haumoana.
The bright rust-coloured algal bloom was being monitored by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s environmental information team and samples were taken on Thursday to determine risk to the public.
The pre-Christmas algal bloom in Te Awanga on Hawke's Bay's Cape Coast was tested for toxicity. The bloom was found to be "of low risk", the Region Council said late on Friday.
Results from samples were not expected before Christmas Hawke’s Bay Today was told.
However a spokeswoman for the Regional Council said test results had been returned on Friday afternoon.
“Our scientists have sampled the bloom and results indicate it is of low risk.”
Regional Council senior scientist marine and coasts Becky Shanahan said algal blooms were common in Hawke’s Bay after heavy rain and warm temperatures, which enable the algae to grow.
“Most algal blooms are harmless and are a food source for marine life. Only around 2 per cent of algal species produce toxins that can harm marine life. While they typically don’t cause issues for people, they can in rare cases,” she said.
The current sea conditions are likely to shift the algal bloom around the coast.
“Our teams will continue monitoring the bloom as the composition can naturally change over time.”
As a precaution, the public is advised not to swim or harvest shellfish where the algal bloom is present.
Algal bloom was suspected to have caused low dissolved oxygen, which caused the mass death of sea life that washed ashore in Napier earlier in the year.
Last summer, thousands of creatures, mainly kina but also crayfish, starfish and sea cucumbers covered the beach off Hardinge Rd, Ahuriri, and sparked an investigation ahead of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The algal bloom has been tested by Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
If results change with current algal bloom levels and indicate levels of high risk for the community, Te Whatu Ora will be notified, and further guidance will be provided, the health organisation said.
Shellfish off the menu
People are also reminded not to collect shellfish from anywhere along the coast from Te Awanga to Bay View after harmful viruses and bacteria were found in wild mussels tested as part of post-cyclone monitoring.
This is despite Food Safety (NZFS) partially lifting its advisory to the public not to collect or consume shellfish gathered from parts of the East Coast of the North Island due to the presence of paralytic shellfish toxins.
NZFS’s warning remains in place for the area from Cape Runaway to the Wairoa River mouth.
