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It sounds like announcing the sequel to any '50s horror flick, but the poisonous plankton are "baaaaaack" and blooming again in the Bay of Fundy (which was largely spared from the May - June monster of shellfish flat closings). These new Red Tide blooms threaten to close Down East clam flats again for an unknown length of time. Meanwhile, Cobscook clammers are upset that test results for the Red Tide plankton are not being disclosed, and they aren't being told when they can get back to work.
BACKGROUND: "Red Tide" is a colloquial name for blooms of specific planktons (small shrimp-like creatures) in coastal ocean waters that naturally produce a toxin that can kill humans and other birds and mammals. Fish and shellfish are not affected by the toxin, but shellfish will feed on these plankton when present, and thus the shellfish become toxic to humans while their digestive systems still contain undigested plankton. Red Tides normally occur in the spring when heavy rains decrease salinity and increase water temperature abruptly, stimulating the population growth of these specific marine planktons whose shells are reddish colored, thus creating reddish waters where they're found in large numbers.
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