FL Red Tides Now In Their 9th Month - W. Coast Tourism, Fishing Hammered

[hatrack]

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla., Oct. 7 - Even when the beaches are free of dead fish and bad smells, it is evident: Coughing, sniffling and itchy, teary eyes confirm that red tide is out there, killing sea life by the ton and tainting the air along Florida's southwest coast for a ninth straight month. What started in January with a fisherman's report of an algal bloom off St. Petersburg has spread south to Naples and, in recent weeks, up to Pensacola. It is one of Florida's worst red tides in decades, and as scientists puzzle over its tenacity, tourists are fretting, businesses are suffering and residents, some wearing surgical masks to the beach, are weaving their own anxious theories.

Scientists say that Karenia brevis, the Gulf Coast's strain of red tide, is a naturally occurring alga that has appeared here since at least the 1800's. It produces a toxin that causes short-term respiratory problems in humans when it vaporizes and, more seriously, attacks the central nervous systems of fish, birds and sea mammals. Its victims this year include at least 163 sea turtles, 63 manatees, 25 dolphins and thousands of fish, many of which have carpeted beaches. Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, has removed more than 950 tons of dead creatures from its beaches since June. Some towns have dispatched prisoners to tackle the mess, while others have hired day laborers.

The red tide has shut down Panhandle oyster beds, another blow to the industry after Hurricane Dennis walloped it in July. Eating shellfish that carry red tide toxins can cause numbness, nausea and diarrhea, but scientists say other fish from affected areas remain safe to eat as long as they appear healthy when caught. Over the summer, the bloom became so intense off St. Petersburg that it created a 2,000-square-mile "dead zone," large parts of it devoid of oxygen and marine life. Hurricane Katrina stirred up the water enough to dissipate the zone, but unlike past hurricanes, it failed to vanquish the stubborn red tide, which extends about 40 miles offshore. "I've heard of people coming here to stay a week, and they're gone after a day, wanting their money back," said Kumar Mahadevan, president of Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, which is studying the bloom along with state scientists. "The worst could be yet to come because if it stays during the busy season, tourism will really take a beating."\

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People with asthma and other chronic lung diseases lose breathing capacity after red tide exposure, and emergency rooms treat more pneumonia and bronchitis during blooms. With so many people affected this year, more are asking whether pollution, overdevelopment or other human factors are to blame. Nitrogen and phosphorus in lawn fertilizer, carried by runoff into coastal waters, are especially suspect. "It's very likely that coastal pollution and the effluence are enhancing the red tides once they get into shore," said Richard H. Pierce, who oversees red tide research at Mote. "The problem I have as a scientist is the data we have so far does not really support that. But my take is it's because we really don't have enough of the right kind of information."

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/08/national/08tide.html

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. And forget eating oysters

I wonder how close to the Gulf you have to be to get the lung problems? My husband has been bothered with bronchitis recently and he is prone to allergies.

[pitohui]

2. is this story really true

or is it exaggerated, because i know some folks who went to bradenton beach last month, which is way less than 9 months ago, & they didn't observe anything like this

maybe they just lack a sense of smell i dunno

[rzemanfl]

5. It moves around, as I recall Bradenton was relatively clear last

month. Florida Fish and Wildlife's web page has weekly reports. I'd get you the addy but I have dial up. Just search "Florida Red Tide" on google or yahoo.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Green fields and red tides.... article.

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/091805/tp2ch14.htm?date=091805&story=tp2ch14.htm


Hommema suspects pollution from everything from the discharge of more than 1 billion gallons of wastewater from the Piney Point phosphate chemical plant in 2003 to "rich people buying homes all along the Gulf."

The homeowners expect to have their lawns to look beautiful, so they use excessive amounts of fertilizer, Hommema said.

At least one scientist has also concluded that pollution is causing an increase in red tide. Dr. Larry Brand, a marine biology professor from the University of Miami, reviewed the state's archive of data on red tide dating back 50 years.

Brand concluded red tide concentrations are now about 10 times higher than they were in the 1950s and 1960s.

[rzemanfl]

4. I live in Pinellas and have been to the beach twice since May.

Usually am there every Saturday and Sunday. Red tide is still evident as of yesterday off of Honeymoon Island, no dead fish, but it makes me sneeze and you can feel it in your throat.

[philb]

6. Its worse because of global warming; but state officials in Florida

are the worst in the country regarding energy policy and failing to deal with the huge energy crisis and global warming problems affecting Floridians more than most- other than La. and Miss. this year.

http://www.flcv.com/green.html


And red tide is much worse in Gulf of Maine and off California,etc.
likewise as waters warm.

causes more hypoxia and changes in the ocean food chain favoring red tide. Also has a connection to the dead zones(hypoxia) in Florida, Louisiana,etc.

solutions: http://www.flcv.com/flenergy.html