What is the government of Newfoundland and Labrador doing to monitor blue-green algae blooms?
The provincial Department of Environment and Conservation has developed a comprehensive Blue-Green Algae Monitoring Plan for 2008, which will be implemented in cooperation with the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada. As part of this monitoring plan, water samples were collected from the ponds that experienced a blue-green algae bloom in 2007. The samples were shipped to various laboratories that are accredited for chemical analysis , bacteriological analysis, blue-green algae identification and enumeration, and total microcystin-LR analysis . Water samples will be collected monthly in the absence of a blue-green bloom, but the frequency of sampling will increase if a bloom develops. Additionally, microcystin-LR test kits and a multi parameter probe equipped with blue-green algae and chlorophyll sensors will be used in the ponds to quickly confirm or deny the presence of a bloom, if one is suspected. The field testing will occur simultaneously with the col
