Georgica Pond Opened

Georgica Pond in East Hampton, which the town trustees have closed to the harvesting of crabs for part of the last two years due to dense blooms of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, was opened to the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 7.

Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, announced that the pond had been opened to the ocean at the group’s meeting on Tuesday. “It’s running well,” Sean McCaffrey, a trustee who had been on site, said of the channel created between the pond and ocean. “It did what it’s supposed to.” The high salinity of the ocean water will kill the algal bloom.

The pond has been closed to crabbing since August. “The opening of the cut in Georgica has ended the blue-green algae bloom that had persisted since Aug. 1, Stephanie Forsberg, the trustees’ assistant clerk, said in an email yesterday. “Levels are almost zero and we do not expect to see any blue-green algae again in 2015. The salinity is close to ocean levels within the south of the pond.”

Because the bloom has dissipated, the trustees will rescind the prohibition on crabbing, Dr. Forsberg said, though they had not done so as of yesterday morning. When they last voted to extend the closure, the trustees agreed to authorize Ms. McNally to take appropriate action on their behalf. “As soon as the data is in the office,” Ms. McNally said yesterday, “we should be good to go.”

While blue-green algae are naturally present in lakes and streams, an abundance, caused by warm water temperatures and a lack of tidal flushing, can lead to blooms. Exposure can cause vomiting or diarrhea; skin, eye, or throat irritation; nausea, or allergic reactions or breathing difficulties.

All trustee-managed waters, Dr. Forsberg said, “are looking very good” as of yesterday. “We have had no rust tide to speak of this season, which is great.”