FWC Discounts Pollution in Red Tide Discussion
September 26th, 2018 by Jake Stofan
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has agreed to increase funding for red tide research and new fish hatcheries.
The current red tide bloom has been active for nearly a year.
In that time more than 1,200 fish kills have been reported to the FWC.
“Probably a lot more than that if people had reported everything,” said Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Director Gil McRae.
During their Wednesday meeting, commissioners were briefed on the outbreak and approved a $3.5 million budget request for 2019 to establish a red tide research center and task force.
“Our efforts need to be focused on recovery we need to continue and boost research and we need to continue to explore innovation,” said FWC Director Eric Sutton.
The commission says it will be experimenting in the field with a special clay from Asia, along with conducting lab research on other potential ways to combat the algae.
Environmentalists have suggested pollution and agricultural runoff may be factors in sustaining prolonged red tide blooms, but pollution was never mentioned in the meeting.
The commission instead reassured the public that the current bloom was a natural phenomenon.
Sutton said it was wrong of environmental groups to center the discussion around pollution.
“It means they don’t understand red tide, because to point to any one single individual or source is irresponsible,” said Sutton.
The commission suggested the extended bloom has likely been caused by abnormal weather patterns and iron brought into the Gulf by unusually high dust deposits from the African Sahara.
FWC Commissioners also agreed to extend a catch and release designation for red fish and snook in the counties most impacted by red tide through May 10th.
$1.2 million for red fish hatcheries was approved at the meeting to help replenish the populations after the blooms subside.
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