Blue-green algae on Lake Brittany not affecting fishing
Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008
BELLA VISTA - Bella Vista's Lake Brittany is experiencing a blue-green algae bloom; however, fishing remains good and the situation is being monitored, said Darrell Bowman, lakes ecologist with the Property Owners Association.
Phytoplankton is nearly microscopic algae that gives lake water its color and provides the basic level of food production in a lake, a POA news release states. The phytoplankton that was giving Lake Brittany a golden color a few weeks ago was in a group of beneficial algaes called flagellates. That yielded to a bloom dominated by blue-green algae that also has a golden color.
The species of blue-green algae is aphanizomenon, which is not desirable. This is one of the blue-green algaes that can produce microtoxins in the water that can cause odor, taste and even health problems, if the algae is at high levels and persists for a long period.
Fortunately, Lake Brittany's algae bloom is not severe, and everything is fine, Bowman said. Fish show no signs of stress, there is no odor, and dissolved oxygen levels remain high. Bowman will continue to monitor the situation and manage the bloom accordingly.
"Right now, the thing to do is to watch it. I expect it to dissipate within a matter of weeks," Bowman said. "More aggressive action will be taken if the bloom becomes more severe."
The algae bloom is the result of this year's severe flooding and runoff that flushed all of Bella Vista's lakes, Bowman said. Each lake has received higher than normal nutrient loads simply from all the flood water running off the land. This has a fertilization effect, and each lake has experienced some kind of phytoplankton bloom, he said. Bowman has contacted other lake managers regarding nuisance algae blooms on other lakes because of flooding. One lake is in Hot Springs Village, and the other is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Lake Elmdale between Springdale and Elm Springs, where Bowman has been helping to identify the problems with algae and water quality.
All of the Bella Vista lakes bloomed in beneficial algae initially, and some are maintaining those blooms. Samples have demonstrated that Loch Lomond has also bloomed with some aphanizomenon, but again, it's not at severe levels, Bowman said.
"While samples indicate the type of algaes that dominate the phytoplankton blooms that we interpret as good or bad, the fish don't read the books. Fishing reports have been good throughout the last couple of weeks from all the lakes in general, and trout are still being caught at high rates by members fishing Lake Brittany," Bowman said.
The survey cards collected from Lake Brittany last week show that anglers are very satisfied by catching trout at a rate of 2. 3 fish per hour and are harvesting most of those fish. Members also report that the flesh of some trout harvested is pink, like salmon, indicating the trout have survived in the lake long enough to switch to natural forage in the lake. The pink flesh tastes more like salmon than when the flesh is white from the foods fed to trout in the hatchery before stocking.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
