![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/catherine-evans.jpg\")
Catherine Evans, a senior data analyst a DeepSense, says that over the years cyanobacteria blooms have increased globally and are projected to increase in frequency and severity the next 50 to 100 years. (Submitted by Catherine Evans)<\/p>\nNew Brunswick is seeing more\u00a0reports of cyanobacteria blooms in provincial waterways, researchers say.<\/p>\n
Meghann Bruce, a biologist\u00a0at University of New Brunswick’s\u00a0Canadian River Institute, said there has been a rise in reports of cyanobacteria, commonly referred to as blue-green algae.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It could be a green paint-like scum on top of the water, but it could also be like a thick mat or a carpet that actually grows on the bottom of the water,” Bruce said. “It may look like specks or grass clippings, or even wet wool almost.”<\/p>\n
So far this year, there have been 15 reports of cyanobacteria,\u00a0a photosynthetic bacteria that is not necessarily harmful, although certain types can be toxic to humans and animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Bruce,\u00a0this is a significant increase from the previous three reports\u00a0in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lower water levels a factor<\/p>\n
Bruce also said the summer’s more extreme\u00a0hot and dry weather, compared to last year,\u00a0has\u00a0lowered water levels, which\u00a0adds\u00a0to the likelihood of blooms.<\/p>\n
“Warm still water creates ideal conditions for some types of cyanobacteria, some types of algae to grow quickly,” she said. “So low flows and low water levels mean less mixing and dilution, so blooms can build up and persist.”<\/p>\n
Bruce said water levels in New Brunswick rivers are comparable to what they were in 2020, which was considered\u00a0big bloom year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, increased public awareness about the bacteria might be the main contributing factor to the rise in reports, she said.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot more discussion in the public. This year there’s five new reported blooms, and those five new sites are likely the result of increased monitoring, [and] increased awareness of knowing what to look for.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the blooms were reported in areas where cyanobacteria\u00a0was known to bloom, she said. Of the five new blooms, three\u00a0were benthic blooms at the bottom of rivers,\u00a0and two were surface blooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Benthic blooms, which\u00a0can look like a slimy film, are considered toxic because of how densely concentrated they are.<\/p>\n
Bruce said there has been a recent increase in benthic cyanobacteria at monitoring sites in the Wolastoq, or St. John River, but she said it’s\u00a0too early to determine if 2025 will be a significant bloom year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Canadian River Institute samples several sites all along the river.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fredericton area has history<\/p>\n
Bruce said researchers focus on the Fredericton region, from the Matacquac Dam down to Lincoln, because of consistent reports of blooms and the water’s proximity to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, she said, the number of blooms observed have been similar to previous years, but the bloom season is not over.<\/p>\n
“We can just say that they are there, they are growing, and will continue to grow if conditions persist,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Only time will tell if it’s a significant bloom year.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Catherine Evans, a senior analyst for DeepSense, a data scientist organization that supports academic research in the ocean economy, agreed it’s uncertain whether blooms will continue to increase.<\/p>\n
Catherine Evans, a senior data analyst a DeepSense, says that over the years cyanobacteria blooms have increased globally and are projected to increase in frequency and severity the next 50 to 100 years. (Submitted by Catherine Evans)<\/p>\n
But globally, there has been a significant increase in cyanobacteria blooms, she said.<\/p>\n
Evans’s work focuses on satellite data, which\u00a0shows\u00a0an increase in cyanobacteria over the past couple of decades. She said it is projected to increase both in frequency and severity because of\u00a0the hotter and drier weather conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There’s is all this sun beating down [and]\u00a0there’s no rain filling up our watershed, and that allows a lot of rain and a lot of water in our lakes and rivers to evaporate,” she said. “It also increases the concentration of nutrients from runoff, either from sewers or agriculture.”<\/p>\n
“With a higher concentration of those nutrients in our water and a higher temperature, that makes an algae bloom more likely to happen.”<\/p>\n
Precautions for people and pets near\u00a0water<\/p>\n
Both Evans and Bruce said that with more new bloom sites discovered,\u00a0people should be\u00a0more careful around bodies of water.<\/p>\n
They suggest people check for health advisories and take precautions when swimming at beaches, rivers, and lakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, Bruce and Evans said that cyanobacteria does not always look blue-green\u00a0\u2014\u00a0it can be yellow, or even orange, so they recommend people look for anything in the water that is unusual. \u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Underwater](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cyanobacteria-in-st-john-river.jpg\")
Benthic cyanobacteria can be very toxic because it is a dense concentration of the algae, Evans says. (Submitted by Meghann Bruce)<\/p>\n
If you have been exposed to cyanobacteria by accident, either by touching it or ingesting it, Evans suggested rinsing with soap and water.\u00a0If you start feeling sick, she advises\u00a0going to the hospital.<\/p>\n
She also suggested taking a picture of the algae and\u00a0reporting it the Department of Environment\u00a0by calling its\u00a0regional offices and by providing information such as:<\/p>\n
Name and location of the affected body of water. The kind of body of water (lake, stream, or pond, for instance). Colour of the bloom or mat.\u00a0 Whether there is a yellow scum on the surface, since this could be pollen. How long the issue has been occurring.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Brunswick is seeing more\u00a0reports of cyanobacteria blooms in provincial waterways, researchers say. Meghann Bruce, a biologist\u00a0at University…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-89072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}