Huge beds of Mekong River edible seaweed attract tourists and locals

[webfact]

Huge beds of Mekong River edible seaweed attract tourists and locals

 

photo from timenews

 

Tourists and locals, in Muang district of Thailand’s north-eastern province of Bung Karn, are excited over the rare emergence of huge patches of river seaweed on sandbars in the Mekong River.

 

The depth of water where the seaweed has emerged was only about 2.2 metres on Monday morning, about 11.8 metres below of the top of the river bank.

 

Curious tourists and local youths have been making their way, in row boats, to the mid-river sandbars to watch the seaweed and then share their images and clips on social media.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/huge-beds-of-mekong-river-edible-seaweed-attract-tourists-and-locals/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2020-01-06

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[tifino]

 I'd be wary of how many PPMs of whatever?? industrial, comes in every ladle of it?

[anterian]

Weed yes, but not seaweed. https://fishbio.com/field-notes/mekong-basin/river-weed

 

[DrTuner]

I think that pretty much defines "easily excitable".

[samuttodd]

That appears to be algae.   Spirogyra, Mougeotia and Zygnema.

 

Among the most common filamentous algae found in ponds is Spirogyra. It is often mixed with Mougeotia and Zygnema. All three genera form thready, silky, slippery masses that are slimy to the touch and often have trapped air bubbles.

 

 

It is pond scum.

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by samuttodd

[daoyai]

Very popular in Lao (pdr)  ... dried in sheets then grilled, tastes ok,  as the Mae Kong is a sewage drain from china there is plenty of nitrogen in the water, yummy !

[samuttodd]

Probably loaded with Fecal Coliform as well,  even Eserichia Coli.   Yum!

 

 

I like mine with a little twist of lemon.

[Traubert]

25 minutes ago, daoyai said:

Very popular in Lao (pdr)  ... dried in sheets then grilled, tastes ok,  as the Mae Kong is a sewage drain from china there is plenty of nitrogen in the water, yummy !

There's absolutely sweet fanny adams in terms of conurbation either urban or industrial in China on the banks of the Mekong.

 

Unless of course they're taking your knowledge up there by truck and dumping it in the river.

[wombat]

send in the Vegan tasters i say.

[Nyezhov]

I love seaweed. I used to just bong out with sheets of Nori. Dip in just a hint of Shoyu. Yum.

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourists and locals, in Muang district of Thailand’s north-eastern province of Bung Karn, are excited over the rare emergence of huge patches of river seaweed on sandbars in the Mekong River.

I kinda find that hard to swallow... what tourist is going to flock to look at a patch of weed?

Locals I can understand as they're probably thinking about harvesting it for sale!

[samuttodd]

What I've seen before is when there are huge blooms of Algae in water systems,  they are usually caused by

 'overfeeding.' This occurs when nutrients (mainly phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon) from sources such as lawns and farmlands flow downriver to the sea and build up at a rate that 'overfeeds' the algae that exist normally in the environment.

Some HABs have also been reported in the aftermath of natural phenomena like sluggish water circulation, unusually high water temperatures, and extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and drought.

 

People often get sick by eating shellfish containing toxins produced by these algae. Airborne HAB toxins may also cause breathing problems and, in some cases, trigger asthma attacks in susceptible individuals.

HABs can also be costly in economic terms as well. At present, HABs cause about $82 million in economic losses to the seafood, restaurant, and tourism industries each year. HABs reduce tourism, close beaches and shellfish beds, and decrease the catch from both recreational and commercial fisheries.

 

They also cause catastrophic Oxygen depletion in the affected water.  Whch can cause mass fish die offs.

 

 

The affected waters also kill off dogs and livestock that ingest the poisons that the algae release into the water. https://wagwalking.com/condition/algae-blooms-toxicity

 

 

So it may not be reason for celebration.

 

Per the NOAA research on the subject

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why_habs.html

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by samuttodd

[samuttodd]

20 minutes ago, rhyddid said:

There is no water in the river due the Chinese and Laotian several dams, that is the news a tragic news!

That would cause low water volume and high temperatures.

 

It would also mean higher concentrations of the conditions leading to Algae blooms are present.