UNC Sea Grant 



October, 1983 



- f 



r J / 3 1983 



COAST SWITCH 



/1/7 electron micrograph of nuisance blue-green algae 



A bloom of algae 



coated the Neuse River from Kinston to New 

 Bern this summer. Residents along the river are 

 learning to dread the smell of the algal slime. 

 Boaters don't like the green wake behind their 

 boats. Swimmers and water-skiers don't like the 

 green scum on their bathing suits. 



Those are the obvious effects. But the concerns 

 go beyond the aesthetic, beyond the recreational, 



beyond the fresh water. The blooms are affecting 

 the biological makeup of the river, and may ul- 

 timately affect what goes on downstream in the 

 estuary — the estuaries that support our fisheries. 



Solutions? Some are on the way. But at least 

 one, a proposed ban on phosphate detergents, 

 may be unpopular with some. 



Inside, the causes, the impacts and the politics 

 of the blue-green algal blooms on the Neuse 

 River. 



