“Shine in the dark” dolphins may seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, that is precisely what Newport Coastal Adventures' Captain Ryan Lawler and professional videographer Patrick Coyne witnessed, when they set out to explore the spectacular blue tides that have been lighting up the waters off Southern California's coast since mid-April.
The partner scanned the ocean for hours and was returning to shore when they spotted the “electric” dolphins swimming through the bloom of shining plankton(浮游生物). The videographer, who had seen the phenomenon only once before in a Netflix show, says catching the scenes proved to be a lot harder than he had expected. “For starters, the shining plankton has sweet spots to where it shows up and then fades away, so while on the water, it's impossible to just find it,” Coyne says. “Also, conditions have to be absolutely perfect for the shining plankton to show and for animals to swim through it so we can film it.”
Though witnessing shining sea life is rare, the electrifying blue ocean scenery is a fairly common sight around Southern California between February and September. The phenomenon can be attributed to the presence of millions of plankton, which tend to gather and reproduce in large quantities in the warm coastal waters during this time.
Though a majority of California's red tides are caused by plankton species that do not produce deadly poison, some algal blooms(藻花)can be dangerous for sea animals, especially when they stay for long periods of time. In 2018, an almost year-long “red tide” along Florida's Gulf coast caused by the excessive growth of microalgae Karenia Brevis, killed hundreds of fish and other sea animals.
