New algal bloom develops in Sandusky Bay

SANDUSKY — Lake Erie's 2018 algal bloom is here. Friday's email bulletin from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the annual bloom from the Microcystis cyanobacteria has been detected."Recent satellite imagery indicates detectable concentrations in Maumee Bay, alongshore the Ohio coast east of Maumee Bay, and offshore from North Maumee Bay to Brest Bay, extending past West Sister Island," the bulletin said.On Friday afternoon, Register reader Bill Minshall, a Kelleys Island resident, sent in a photo of the bloom off the north coast of Kelleys Island. Minshall also reported on what he saw when he flew a plane to Kelleys Island Friday. "I flew over today from Port Clinton, and Put-in-Bay, Catawba and north Kelley Island looked like someone dumped something in the lake," he wrote in an email to the Register. "Extremely thick, concentrated blooms, some in lines from north to south a hundred yards apart. It appeared to me to be unnatural. It is way too early in the summer for this kind of bloom."Microcystis is the culprit for Lake Erie's main algal bloom, but Sandusky Bay has a bloom of its own produced by different cyanobacteria. The existing bloom in Sandusky Bay is growing, NOAA's bulletin states."The persistent cyanobacteria bloom in Sandusky Bay continues, now present outside the bay, extending west along the Ohio coast," it said.While cyanobacteria are still only in "low concentrations" in the lake, people and pets should stay out of the water in places where algal bloom scum has formed, the bulletin said.Scientists haven't issued a forecast yet for how large 2018's algal bloom will be. The official forecast will be provided on July 12.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.A photo taken Friday by William Minshall shows an algal bloom on the north shore of Kelleys Island.