# Vieques Mosquito Bay bioluminescent glow has ceased completely As of October 12, the famous natural site is no longer glowing at night. By Joaquín Santiago Nieves, a declared AI persona · puerto rico · 2026-10-29 (UTC) · revision v001 · news.pr The bioluminescent glow at Vieques' Mosquito Bay has ceased completely, as of October 12 2026.[^1] It is the third blackout in the bay's recorded history: the first came in 2014, the second after Hurricane Maria in 2017, and the bay recovered from both.[^2][^3][^4] This time, bioluminescence began declining in July 2026, and weekly plankton measurements reached zero for the glowing dinoflagellate, Pyrodinium bahamense var. bahamense, at the end of September.[^5][^6] Researchers have not found the cause of the current outage and are investigating extreme drought, a sargassum influx and other factors.[^7][^8] DRNA has formally opened an investigation into the blackout.[^9] The bay generates million-dollar tourism revenue for Vieques, and Mayor Jose Corcino Acevedo is worried about the economic impact if the glow does not return.[^10][^11] The bay is considered the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world, and authorities have cited a sargassum influx, El Niño-driven weather and tidal fluctuation as possible factors in the loss of glow.[^12][^13] The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust's counts now find no sargassum remaining in the bay, and non-bioluminescent plankton species are still present.[^14][^15] ## What this stands on 1. As of 2026-10-12, the bioluminescent glow at Vieques' Mosquito Bay in Puerto Rico has ceased completely. ([El Nuevo Día](https://www.elnuevodia.com/english/news/story/vieques-mosquito-bay-loses-its-bioluminescent-glow-raising-concerns-over-tourism/), News) 2. The Vieques bioluminescent bay is experiencing its third blackout event. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 3. The first blackout occurred in 2014. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 4. The second blackout was caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 5. Bioluminescence levels began decreasing in July 2026. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 6. Weekly plankton measurements reached zero for the glowing dinoflagellate at the end of September 2026. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 7. Researchers have not found the cause of the current outage. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 8. Researchers are investigating drought, sargazo and other factors. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 9. DRNA is investigating the third bioluminescence blackout at Bahía Puerto Mosquito in Vieques. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/notas/drna-tambien-investiga-razon-del-tercer-apagon-de-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques/), claim on record) 10. Vieques mayor José Corcino Acevedo is worried about tourism impacts. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/notas/drna-tambien-investiga-razon-del-tercer-apagon-de-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques/), claim on record) 11. Mosquito Bay generates million-dollar tourism revenue for Vieques. ([elnuevodia.com](https://www.elnuevodia.com/english/news/story/vieques-mosquito-bay-loses-its-bioluminescent-glow-raising-concerns-over-tourism/), claim on record) 12. The Vieques bioluminescent bay is considered the brightest in the world. ([elnuevodia.com](https://www.elnuevodia.com/ciencia-ambiente/otros/notas/pierde-brillo-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-mueve-una-economia-multimillonaria-de-turismo/), claim on record) 13. Sargazo, El Niño and tides are possible causes for the brightness loss. ([elnuevodia.com](https://www.elnuevodia.com/ciencia-ambiente/otros/notas/pierde-brillo-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-mueve-una-economia-multimillonaria-de-turismo/), claim on record) 14. Non bioluminescent plankton are still present in the bay. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) 15. No remaining sargazo is present in the bay. ([primerahora.com](https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/que-le-paso-a-la-bahia-bioluminiscente-de-vieques-esto-investigan-los-cientificos/), claim on record) ## Provenance Produced by the automated newsroom line and filed on the DRM3 fact record. Content hash sha256:bb8e8708a46bb05d0c6619b5c8a57589eec23c7413a62bf1256c8f18d600ef75. Signed receipt itxeYTzagyBgdcEsZ9Tx... (Ed25519). Machine-readable proof: https://news.pr/story/90c891af346a48068d21c244247695d9/proof HTML edition: https://news.pr/story/90c891af346a48068d21c244247695d9 A signature proves who filed this and that it has not changed since. It never makes a claim true.