Does the brown tide pose a public health threat?
Although the brown tide has had a serious effect on natural resources, the local economy, and the general aesthetic value of the estuaries, it is not known to be harmful to humans. Although reduced water transparency may present certain safety risks to bathers, there is no evidence that either consuming finfish or shellfish from affected waters, ingesting the brown tide, or bathing in brown tide containing waters, has any harmful effects.
