STARWAVE:

Sea Territory And Regional Water Area Vigilance Experiment

Using NASA satellite photography, GIMP (a free, modifiable, open-source PhotoShop-like Computer Program), and Other Historical and Contemporary Data in Context to Find, Monitor and Protect the Fish, Shellfish, Oysters, Snails, and Starfish that Naturally Consume Algal Bloom in the Wild

PROBLEM: Algal Bloom overgrowth is a dangerous, naturally and regularly occurring, increasing problem in the global water supply — often producing neurotoxins that can kill humans, land animals, and fish.

Poisoning (herbicide) it is not a desirable long-term option as the planetary water supply would be negatively affected.

Algal Bloom cannot just be skimmed from the water surface, because even if it could be safely disposed of, water turbulence can drive it to depths of 6 to 9 meters.

When Algal growth falls within tolerance, it is a needed part of the eco-system for food from from fish to whales, but when out-of-control it causes hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in the water.

Cyanobacteria (some forms without the microcystins neurotoxin) are even sold as pharmaceuticals for containing B-12. (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry www.pubs.acs.org)

Diatoms — an algae responsible for domoic acid neurotoxin — also give off 50% of the global oxygen supply. (www.diatoms.org)

THEORY: The international commercial fishing, farming, cities, and tourist industries may all be working against the environment’s ability to remain balanced by mistakenly eradicating the natural predators of Algal Bloom on a massive scale — thus costing all four groups lives and money in the long run.

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION:

2 of 11

Friday, October 18, 2019

Many fishermen haul in but casually destroy species that are considered unprofitable “trash fish” by commercial markets when they are the very fish that the more profitable, larger fish eat to survive.

Farm fertilizer run-off results in polluted drinking water that cannot be re-used for crops, and is heavy in nitrates, sulfates, and urea.

City sewage contaminates nearby supplies of drinking water that cannot be cleaned easily by anything from boiling to community water treatment plants — causing illnesses that strain hospitals and necessitating importing of clean water if it is even available.

Tourist beaches and nearby inland and areas are often artificially maintained so that the environment is unnaturally free of any real eco-system. (White sand beaches without shells or normal ocean flotsam due to recent decades of medical trash.)

GOOD NEWS: Some aquatic species (currently kept by many coastal aquariums and hobbyists for simple variety and noted among those collectors for the very purpose suggested in this paper) could actually stop dangerous Algal Bloom growth patches from starting in their marine and freshwater environments by consistently consuming and disrupting the Algal Bloom in a trackable and constructive way.

GOAL: To find and encourage the natural consumers of Algal Bloom — many of which are already known as such by state funded aquariums down to hobbyists — to thrive in their natural marine and freshwater environments.

METHOD FOR CREATING NEW NASA APP AND DATABASE:

PART 1 (Historic): Gather NASA and other satellite records regularly filed with

interested international governments for the past several decades, noting: FISHING:

Areas fished

Total number of boats

Time the fleets were out

Complaints of over-fishing for any species in general

HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS which could have: Diluted Algal Bloom needed nutrients from water

3 of 11

Friday, October 18, 2019

Overcast the sunshine Algal Bloom needs to grow (6 or less hours of direct lights stunts Algal growth in aquariums)

Scattered any already-formed Algal Bloom patches INLAND STORMS AND DROUGHTS which could have:

Concentrated FARM and CITY sewage run-offs TOURIST DESTINATIONS:

What happens in off-season vs. in-season

When a destination is no longer popular and shuts down

PART 2 (Contemporary): Use already commercially available and tested programs like open-sourced, modifiable “GIMP” and “Adobe Photoshop” to compare any shifting of listed fish school populations and their harvesting while looking for later arrival of recorded Algal Bloom patches — both traditional and new — against current NASA ocean and inland water-body maps of the situation.

QUESTIONS:

Does lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in the water drive the majority of the “desirable” commercial fish away before the Algal Bloom visibly starts to arrive in NASA satellite view and kill the rest off?

Can NASA set up separate satellites monitors for “commercial” and “trash” fish — tagging and watching the different populations the same way sharks and whales are watched?

Are the commercial fish first sensitive to any lack of natural Algal Bloom predators, which may have been their customary food?

Can NASA satellites help responsibly rotate fishing areas like land crops, leaving some waters lying completely fallow for a season?

Can replenishing “trash” fish increase the commercial fish haul, while reducing Algal Bloom in a way visible from NASA satellites?

ALSO (on a farther but still consistent note): Individual species do not exist in a vacuum, isolated from compatible life forms.

4 of 11

Friday, October 18, 2019

Wetland reeds and other non-crop “weed” plants exist that can also be listed as having a potentially positive “trash” fish impact on waterway hypoxia?

Have industries used herbicides on them in a mistaken effort to increase crop yield?

NASA satellites would possible have historic photos of changing wetland boundaries, possibly preceding the appearance of Algal Bloom.

17 Suggested Popular Alga Eaters

(www.fishkeepingworld.com www.hamahamaoysters.com)

Twig Catfish, Bristlenose Plecos, Siamese Flying Fox, Siamese Algae Eater, Mollies(*), Otocinclus Catfish, Malaysian Trumpet Snail, Ramshorn Snail, Nerite Snails(*), Rabbit Snail(*), Amazon Shrimp, Cherry Shrimp, Ghost Shrimp, Oysters, Marble Sea Starfish(*), Sand Sifting Starfish(*)

*These species listed are mostly still able to live within the tolerances of the acidifying of the world’s seas from 8.2 down to 8.1 pH.