Budget cuts make monitoring Florida even more difficult

As a coastal resident of Florida, beaches are the heartbeat of my community and the main focus of our way of life. It’s a spiritual connection to our parks, playgrounds and nature. But there are two words that no one wants to hear before heading to the beach: the red tide. Still, over the past few years, Floridians have had to fight some of the worst red tide flowers in recent memory.

Red Tide is a natural phenomenon that has been occurring in the Gulf for centuries, if not thousands of years, and its effects have also been documented by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. But we made the red tide event even worse as humans changed the landscape and dumped it as too much contamination in the waterway. Blooms last longer, grow bigger and more serious. The outcome is even worse, such as the killing of larger fish and the great loss of marine animals such as dolphins, manatees and seabirds. The vulnerable population also experiences wider and significant respiratory health concerns.

Over the past decade, Florida has seen some of the most devastating and long-term red tide flowers in recent memory. The 2017-2019 Red Tide event covered tens of thousands of acres of bays and killed thousands of tons of fish and other marine wildlife, including dolphins, manatees and sea turtles. The event destroyed tens of millions of dollars in the cancellation of hotels, layoffs of thousands of hardworking service sector employees, and major losses for charter boat captains, commercial fishermen and other coastal businesses, including rental and bait and tackle shops.

For Florida and Florida businesses, knowing exactly when and where the red tide event will bloom is extremely beneficial. To that end, we rely on scientific surveillance systems managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Billions of NOAA’s proposed reductions will have a serious impact on monitoring of red tides, making it difficult to prevent and mitigate human health and economic impacts. For example, let’s say that a severe red tide event is likely to occur in a particular area. In that case, you can warn members of your community to avoid the beach, avoid the beach to remove dead fish, and devote their resources. Because not only is they uncomfortable for beach fans, they also help to alleviate the flowers by removing dead fish and eliminating the food sources of red tide microorganisms.

In 2005, during President George W. Bush, scientists created the Gulf Coast Ocean Observation System. It is now called the American Gulf Coast Observation System, a network of Gulf monitoring, forecasting and forecasting tools. The system provides timely, reliable and accurate information, including adjustment and maintenance of 1,730 scientific sensors in five states, serving more than 15 million Gulf residents and nearly 60 data partners. The coastal observation system is part of a broader network of 11 national regional ocean observation partnerships managed by NOAA, known as the Integrated Ocean Observation System, and the administration proposed a full refund as part of the cleaning to the institution.

NOAA budget cuts and the elimination of integrated marine observation systems – will provide system services for the chopping blocks with a major negative impact on community health, coastal ecosystems, fisheries and coastal economies.

And Florida isn’t the only state staring at a barrel of dangerous algae flowers. From the Great Lakes to Alaska, toxic algae last more frequently or longer due to artificial pollution caused by land and extreme weather events. These locations rely on NOAA scientists and technology to monitor and prevent the worst effects of algae blooms.

We must continue to support NOAA and its critical ocean surveillance systems to make our coastal economy strong and keep Americans healthy and safe from the red tide.

John Paul “JP” Brooker is Florida Conservation Director for Ocean Conservancy. He lives in St. Petersburg.