Red Tide

By analyzing 9 years of data, Florida researchers recently proved that toxic algae blooms are exacerbated by nutrient-rich freshwater releases. The results confirm what scientists, activists, fisherman and others have observed anecdotally for years.

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

A new study by the Roskamp Institute, found participants exhibited symptoms previously only associated with eating contaminated seafood.

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.

He announced in a press conference on Clearwater Beach that much of the money will remain in the greater Tampa Bay region.

Palm City Rep. Brian Mast says algae outbreaks should be treated by the federal government like responses to other natural disasters, such as hurricanes.

The spill essentially "fed" red tide by dumping nitrogen into the waters, fueling algae blooms and killing millions of fish and marine life.

It provided a glimpse into how the researchers linked nitrogen inputs, from both inland and coastal sections of the watershed, to eventual red tide intensity.

Based more than 60 years of red tide data, one researcher thinks the toxic blooms are lasting longer and that climate change may exacerbate the occurrences.

One activist would like the Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force to analyze whether Florida's nutrient regulatory mechanisms are working, saying there could be something inherently wrong with them, or they're not being enforced by government agencies as designed.