DEP Falsely Claims Bacteria Vibrio Is NOT Related To Pollution
DEP Ignores Role of Climate Change – Another Glaring Case of Climate Denial
Real Estate, Tourism, And Shellfish Money Trumps Science
(Source: NJ DEP – Areas in red are “prohibited”)
It was later than I thought
When I first believed you
Now I cannot share your laughter
Ship of fools. ~~~ Grateful Dead
As the warm weather approaches and NJ residents head for coastal waters and coastal seafood, DEP just very quietly publicly released its 2021 “Vibrio Control Plan” (no press releases, public statements, or shore events. The Plan was distributed via DEP email to an unknown audience).
Vibrio is a family of toxic bacteria that pose increasingly significant public health threats:
A Vibrio infection, called vibriosis, is a serious illness that infects thousands of people each year. Vibriosis can occur when a person eats tainted shellfish or swims with open wounds in contaminated waters.
DEP acknowledges these risks:
Vp has become a significant problem for both regulators and the shellfish industry. Despite the implementation of VpControl Plans by States and industries, as well as diligent efforts to implement such plans, shellfish-related illnesses continue to occur and are on the increase, specifically in the northeast and northwest States.
But DEP denies the causes and more aggressive remedies. So let us explain the real science and suggest real solutions.
The Vibrio bacteria level (and risk) is directly related to water temperature and the level of algae in coastal and estuarine waters. According to the US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program:
“While Vibrio occurs naturally in the Chesapeake Bay, the increase in recent years is a direct result of climate change and pollution. As Bay temperatures rise and nutrient pollution from urban stormwater, agricultural runoff, sewage and animal waste continues to increase, algal blooms become more frequent. …
Vibrio bacteria loves to attach itself to tiny particles in the water, such as loose sediment or plant matter. Once it has attached itself to these particles, Vibrio hitches a ride on native microscopic animals called copepods, which feed on the Bay’s supply of algae. As more algae is produced in the summer time, copepods enter a cycle of rapid reproduction, death and decomposition, releasing large amounts of Vibrio directly into the waterways in the process. About 80% of Vibrio infections occur between May and October, when Bay temperatures are at their warmest and algae is most abundant.
Clearly, the level and risks posed by Vibrio are related to abundant algae levels and warm water temperatures.
Algae levels are related to water pollution from nutrients. While nutrients naturally occur, in most NJ waters they are present in excess levels that are the result of man made pollutants (sewage treatment plants, septic systems, fertilizers, atmospheric deposition from combustion sources, etc).
Water temperature is impacted by climate change. Warmer water exacerbates nutrient pollution and accelerates algae blooms.
But the DEP Vibrio Plan not only fails to even mention these fundamental causes related to climate change, it actually misrepresents the science by flat denying the role of water pollution.
According to DEP: (emphasis mine):
Vp occurs naturally in coastal waters. It is not related to pollution, which means that traditional controls for shellfish sanitation related to growing water classification are not effective. Instead, the occurrence of this pathogen in elevated levels generally appears to be related to water temperature and post-harvest handling. Vp levels increase rapidly. Scientific studies have determined that when shellfish are exposed to temperatures greater than 60 degrees Fahrenheit the doubling of Vp occurs within 7.24 hours.
This is simply false and misleading and not science based.
DEP’s Vibrio Plan does not even mention the words climate, pollution, nutrients, water quality, regulations, or standards.
Shame on DEP.
I wish this were an anomaly, but it is part of a longstanding pattern of denial by DEP, see:
Historically, the DEP lies were propagated primarily by the press office. It is deeply disturbing to see the lies now presented in DEP science and regulatory documents.
DEP repeatedly misleads the public because a full public understanding of the science would depress NJ’s billion dollar coastal tourism and seafood industries and force a regulatory crackdown on sources of nutrient pollution, like coastal development and sewage treatment plants.
I warned NJ Spotlight reporter Jon Hurdle of this falsehood – let’s see if he reports it straight or parrots DEP’s lies:
Jon – DEP is misleading the public about vibrio – Vibrio is related to algae and nutrient levels. This DEP statement from the DEP vibrio plan flat out denies the role of nutrients, (which are pollutants) and climate change:
https://www.nj.gov/dep/bmw/docs/nj2021vibrioplan.pdf
“Vp occurs naturally in coastal waters. It is not related to pollution, which means that traditional controls for shellfish sanitation related to growing water classification are not effective. Instead, the occurrence of this pathogen in elevated levels generally appears to be related to water temperature and post-harvest handling.”
For real science, see this:
“While Vibrio occurs naturally in the Chesapeake Bay, the i ncrease in recent years is a direct result of climate change and pollution. As Bay temperatures rise and nutrient pollution from urban stormwater, agricultural runoff, sewage and animal waste continues to increase, algal blooms become more frequent. “
https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/five_facts_about_vibrio
Please expose this misleading garbage “science” by DEP.
My prediction is that NJ Spotlight won’t report the science or hold DEP accountable for these lies. Instead, IF they write a story at all, they will parrot DEP lies. Just like they did when DEP misled the public and weakened standards for Harmful Algae Blooms in freshwater.
The Foundations and corporate donors don’t pay NJ Spotlight to report inconvenient facts.
I can’t see DEP, a NJ academic, or any NJ press outlets putting out this bad news on the shore. They’re all just afraid of the tourism and development monsters! Just wait and see when they do their annual tourism State of the Shore stunt kicking off the summer beach season and see!
If this is going to get out there, it will have to come from coastal groups (are there any that can speak the truth and aren’t funded by and beholden to DEP?) or people just shaming DEP publicly for denial of science –
This is exactly the kind of shit that got us into the fucking COVID pandemic!