The red tide, discovered over the weekend, is expected to last a few more days and looks set to expand with another red tide in the East China Sea in a month, local ocean experts predict.

The previous red tide in the East China Sea occurred last month on the coast of Zhoushan of Zhejiang Province. The tide covered an area of more than 1,500 square kilometers and lasted more than three weeks.

Local government departments have sent technicians to Ningbo to help fishermen take precautions against the red tide, according to a report on the People's Daily website yesterday.

The red tide occurs due to several kinds of non-toxic organisms, which breed in the water, are plentiful in number and can suffocate fish by consuming most of the oxygen in the water.

Red tides cause damage to marine environment. Most of the red tides occur in April and May and usually last a week or two.

According to the annual environmental status report issued by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), the Chinese coast, from north to south, suffered a total of 77 severe red tides last year, covering more than 15,000 square kilometers. The figure was five times larger than that of 2000.

The East China Sea proved to be the most "disastrous" area, with 27 red tides reported off Zhejiang Province, said the SEPA report.

Other coastal provinces such as Guangdong, Jiangsu and Liaoning and the Shanghai Municipality are also victims of red tides.

In a separate movement, the red tide near Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province, yesterday began to decease after its initial occurrence on June 5.

The red color of the seawater has gradually disappeared, local media reported.

(China Daily June 11, 2002)