The national focus came less than one week after Maine's Department of Marine Resources detected the first bloom of red tide this year. The state has declared it illegal to collect mussels and carnivorous snails from New Hampshire to Cape Elizabeth and Harpswell to Phippsburg because they may be dangerous to eat. The closure remains in effect and officials are now testing clams to see if toxin levels are high enough to ban clamming as well. ''In my state of Maine,'' Snowe said, ''paralytic shellfish poisoning requires the closure of clam flats along the coast each year, costing Maine millions of dollars in lost economic opportunity. Terry Garcia, assistant commerce secretary for oceans and atmosphere, warned the Senate subcommittee. It's a national problem . . .
Contamination also takes a toll on the tourist industry.
While unpredictable and largely unexplained, the outbreaks have been linked to pollution, ocean warming and storms and ocean currents. Ships may contribute to the problem by carrying organisms to new areas. Anderson said in prepared testimony. Anderson listed major outbreaks of toxic algae that struck along the coast of New Jersey, Long Island and Rhode Island in 1985, North Carolina in 1987, the west coast in 1991 and Texas last year. Algae blooms can be destructive even when they're not toxic.