Red tide suffocating pilchards

A persistent red tide bloom is causing shoals of pilchards to swim into the surf zone around the Cape Peninsula according to Times Live.
Red tide suffocating pilchards

Fisheries Department spokesman Hein Wyngaard says the reason for the mortality rate among sardines - known locally as pilchards - is the persistent red tide that extends from Walker Bay around the Cape Peninsula to St Helena Bay, Times Live reports.

The red tide is caused by the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polygramma, a non-toxic species that has been linked to fish deaths because it depletes oxygen in the water as it decays, causing fish to suffocate.

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