algae blooms

“Are we there yet? No. We are not fully restored. But, we are trending in the right direction,” says Melodie Naja, National Park Service scientist.

The loss of seagrass has been blamed on a variety of factors, including heavy rains that wash nutrients into the bay.

Steve Friedman said he "needed a life change.” A passion for environmental activism led him to the water.

Hurricanes season is long gone, but Florida's waterways are still recovering. The powerful storms pushed millions of gallons of sewage and fertilizer into fresh water bodies and that is causing outbreaks of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to humans and fish.

Researchers say Hurricane Ian brought red tide, destroyed artificial reefs from as far away as 30 miles from the coast of southwest Florida, and could impact the state's fishing industry.

Before Hurricane Ian struck, scientists were monitoring water from the mouth of Tampa Bay near Manatee River, all the way up to Cockroach Bay, on the southeastern shore of Hillsborough County for possible effects of a Piney Point stormwater release.

In the next few months, scientists will be monitoring the current, temperature and tropical storm activity, as these factors can shift red tide blooms.

New research finds that human pollution influences the severity of red tides more directly than scientists previously understood. The connection sheds light on the need for better water-quality monitoring statewide — and ultimately, to reduce the nutrient pollution flowing into Florida’s waterways.

After decades of pollution suffocated Tampa Bay and killed half its seagrass and much of its marine life, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects brought the estuary back to life. Tampa Bay became a symbol for the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but seagrasses and fish have begun to die again.

The new University of Miami research inspired an English scientist and poet to turn it into verse.

The organization releases clams into Sarasota Bay due to their natural abilities to filter excess nutrients.