The reason manatees are dying 4:13
(CNN) - It's
not just tourists who invade Florida in the summer, the colorful microorganisms known as red tide and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) also take advantage of the change in temperature to proliferate.
And this causes big problems.
Both types of algal blooms are beginning to make an appearance along some of the most beautiful shores in Southwest Florida.
It remains to be seen if they are being installed for the summer or if it is just a provocation.
Many of those who make their living on the water are quite optimistic about it.
"I think the red tide will be with us every summer," says Rafael Ríos, who has owned a fishing boat for hire in St. Petersburg for 15 years, but has been fishing in the waters of Tampa Bay for 40 years.
«There are years when we don't see any.
There are years when much more is recorded.
Red tide and blue algae come from different microorganisms.
The red tide is caused by the species
Karenia brevis
, while a report issued to Manatee County commissioners recently identified the cyanobacterium Lyngbya as the cause of the local blue-green algae outbreak.
Both are toxic.
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Blue-green algae have flourished in recent weeks in the waters around Tampa Bay, including Sarasota Bay, the Intracoastal Waterway and Terra Ceia Island, located in Manatee County, south of Tampa.
Manatee residents discovered the threat about 10 days ago, when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted signs along Frog Creek and other parts of Terra Ceia State Park. Preserve, warning of the dangers of blue-green algae.
But the red tide is the biggest concern.
A red tide bloom in 2018 was 'one of the worst'
In 2018, a massive red tide outbreak along Florida's southwest coast killed 200 tons of marine life and caused $ 8 million in business losses.
"2018 was one of the worst red tides we've ever had," Ríos said.
"He killed many, many, fish."
Rafael Ríos, pictured, has owned a St. Petersburg charter fishing boat for 15 years and has been fishing the waters of Tampa Bay for 40 years.
State and federal agency maps for the summer of 2018 and fall of that year show strong red tide outbreaks in six counties, from Pinellas in the north to Collier in the south.
This year, the most recent map from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, released in a May 21 report, shows a high concentration of red tide in Lee and Collier counties and low concentrations in four counties.
Fish kills have been recorded in Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties, according to the state commission, and respiratory problems have been observed in Charlotte and Collier counties.
Florida health authorities in Manatee County issued a warning late last week, urging people not to swim near dead fish and advising anyone with chronic respiratory problems to stay away from beaches altogether. .
Hundreds of turtles die in Oaxaca due to red tide
A fishing village at the mercy of the red tide
The fishing town of Cortez, in southern Manatee County, would be hit hard by a massive red tide outbreak, as on other occasions.
Karen Bell's family has been fishing in the local waters for 100 years.
She owns a fish wholesaling and retailing business in Cortez that employs 25 workers, and does business with 60 fishermen, including captains of the 18 fishing boats owned by her company.
The man in the photo with the refrigerator on the boat is Jacob Reeder.
The photo was taken in Cortez, on the docks of AP Bell Fish Co., the company owned by Karen Bell.
Most of those people are at the mercy of the red tide.
"The red tide of 2018 was hard for both the fishermen and the fishing company," he recalls.
"There was very little production on the coast for about 10 months."
Harvesting along coastal waters was reduced by 75%, he said.
"The shoreline species we obtained came from fishermen willing to travel far enough that the red tide was not present," said Bell.
“Some made long boat trips and others towed their boats.
It was a difficult year.
For now, everything seems to be fine.
"The Cortez fishermen are aware of local water conditions," said Bell.
“So far, they have seen some algal blooms, but not much else.
This week the winds have kept them out of the water.
They hope that the turbulence created by the weather will help break up any standing water in which an algal bloom might thrive. '
The captain of a charter boat, Ríos, said he has not encountered any red tides either.
Red tide is not a new phenomenon
The Florida Department of Health notes that red tides were documented in the southern Gulf of Mexico in the 1700s and along the Florida Gulf coast since the 1840s. Florida Wildlife says that
Karenia brevis
, the microorganism responsible for the red tide, was not identified until 1946.
Blooms do not necessarily have to be red or teal in color.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says: “Blooms can look like foam, debris, layers, or paint on the surface of the water.
A bloom can change the color of the water to green, blue, brown, red, or another color. '
The fishing town of Cortez, in southern Florida's Manatee County, would be hit hard by a massive red tide outbreak, as has happened previously.
The agency also notes that blooms can be dangerous if they produce toxins, consume oxygen from the water, release harmful gases, or become too dense.
Algal blooms require the right combination of circumstances to thrive: sunlight, slow-moving water, and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.
And although algal blooms have been known for hundreds of years, the Environmental Protection Agency notes: "Nutrient contamination from human activities exacerbates the problem, leading to more frequent and severe blooms."
Those nutrients come from agricultural landfills, stormwater and sewage, says the Fish and Wildlife Commission.
The water spill is likely the cause of a massive algal bloom that covered 1,294.99 square kilometers of Lake Okeechobee in South Florida on May 11.
The dumping of contaminated water into Tampa Bay from the Piney Point gypsum plant in April to prevent the walls from collapsing remains a major concern.
"More than 814 million liters of wastewater containing more than 200 tons of nitrogen discharged into Tampa Bay in just 10 days is synonymous with disaster," said Justin Bloom, founder of the environmental organization Suncoast Waterkeeper.
"Although we have not yet recorded the intensity of the harmful algal blooms that we feared, the pollution is out there, and it will likely take us years to fully understand the damage done to this delicate but resilient estuary."
Karen Bell's family has been fishing in the local waters for 100 years.
She owns a fish wholesaling and retailing business in Cortez and does business with 60 fishermen, including the captains of the 18 fishing boats her company owns.
Most of those people are at the mercy of the red tide.
"Although it is unlikely that we can establish a direct correlation between the environmental damage in the Tampa or Sarasota bays, it would be absurd to suggest that the impact is not significant."
Suncoast Waterkeeper and four other environmental groups notified on May 17 that they want to enter into a formal dialogue with representatives from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Manatee County Port Authority and HRK Holdings LLC, the owner of Piney Point.
If these talks fail, they threaten to file a federal lawsuit in Tampa.
By filing the lawsuit, the environmental organizations say, they want Piney Point to be shut down for good and attention paid to what they see as regulatory failures across the state.
The Department of Environmental Protection took over the Piney Point Phosphate Fertilizer Plant in 2001, after the then owner suddenly went bankrupt and abandoned the property.
According to the legal document submitted by the environmentalists, the Department of Environmental Protection dumped about 4 million liters of sewage into Tampa Bay and Bishop Harbor between February 2001 and February 2004.
HRK Holdings bought Piney Point in August 2006.
The Manatee Port Authority is part of the disclaimer because it stored dredged material from Tampa Bay at Piney Point.
The Department of Environmental Protection approved that storage.
These actions resulted in violations of the Clean Water Law, the Law of Conservation and Recovery of Resources and the Law of Endangered Species, according to the legal notice of environmental organizations.
Alexandra Kuchta, deputy press secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection, told CNN in a May 18 email that the state agency is not responsible for the Piney Point incident in April.
“While we are unable to comment on pending litigation,” the email read, “what I can tell you is that the department is committed to holding HRK Holdings Inc. and all parties involved in this event accountable, as well as ensuring compliance. closing this site once and for all so this is the last chapter of Piney Point. "
Manatees are dying in Florida, experts say
A local Piney Point representative, who declined to give his name, referred the principal owner, William "Mickey" F. Harley III, to CNN.
Harley did not respond to two calls from CNN on May 18 and her voicemail was full.
He also did not respond to two text messages that same day.
But an HRK spokesperson said in a statement released to the press in April that the Department of Environmental Protection was at fault for failing to take corrective action in the years before the April leak.
HRK had informed the state agency of the magnitude of the problem, spokesman Tom Richards said.
The Manatee County Port Authority also declined to comment in an email sent to CNN on May 18.
"We have put the matter in the hands of legal counsel," said Virginia Zimmermann, director of communications and public relations.
It is still too early to predict what will happen this year
Strong easterly winds likely helped dissipate some of the algal blooms.
On the west coast of Florida, land winds and water movement often carry algae to shore.
Offshore winds push them into open waters.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have installed signs at Terra Ceia Preserve State Park to warn of the dangers of blue-green algae.
But it is still too early to predict what will happen this year.
The red tide usually reaches its peak in summer and fall.
And it can last for days, weeks, months, or even up to a year.
Bell, who owns a fishing business in Cortez, remembers her father telling her that after returning from World War II, a horrible red tide engulfed the Manatee County fishing town.
He couldn't fish locally, so he went to Campeche, Mexico.
That red tide lasted two years.
"I always think about that because while I'm sure what we do with fertilizers and landfills has negative effects, the red tide is a naturally occurring phenomenon," said Bell.
"The point is that the red tide is probably here to stay, but as stewards of the environment, we should do everything possible not to exacerbate the problem."
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