The Truth about Red Tide


Its Causes, Health Effects and Solutions


by Sayer Ji S


everal authorities on marine environmental issues in the state of Florida consider algal bloom outbreaks associated with karenia brevis, a single-cell algae, as natural events beyond our ability to control, rather than phenomena causally linked to land-based, human activities such as nutrient pollution from fertilizer runoff. The media and various stakeholder industries widely echo this perception. Yet, residents of the Gulf Coast can plainly see that the blooms—known as red tide—have progressively worsened, moving closer to shore and persisting for longer periods. If these outbreaks of red tide represent entirely natural cycles, they have recently undergone concerning changes.


Since late September 2012, the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast has been under siege by laboratory-verified blooms that now stretch all the way from Manatee County (Sarasota) to the Florida Keys and contain concentra- tions of karenia brevis at a million cells per liter or higher. According to the Herald-Tribune, in Sarasota, we are experiencing one of the worst red tide outbreaks since 2007. Karenia brevis levels are mea-


sured by state environmental authori- ties using the cells-per-liter scale: Not Present – Background (0-1,000); Very Low (>1,000 to 10,000); Low (>10,000 to 100,000); Medium (>100,000 –


28 Collier/Lee Counties swfl.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com


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