Mote Marine ramps up the war on red tide. A solution won’t be easy
Scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory, invigorated by millions of dollars in new funding, are looking to the future of red tide relief.
The Sarasota-based agency has partnered with state, local and private organizations to research and track red tide for decades. Mote is now hoping to shorten algae blooms and the associated harm to coastal residents and businesses — a tall order.
Mote held a news conference in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday, on the same day Gov. Rick Scott announced $2,178,000 in funding for Mote’s technology projects.
The word of the day was “mitigation.” Society will never eradicate red tide, a natural phenomenon, but scientists might be able to forecast algal blooms and reduce their lifespan.
Unlike a hurricane, forecasting red tide would involve a host of factors — some of them microscopic — above and below the ocean, said Michael Crosby, the president and chief financial officer of Mote.
“I will, only slightly jokingly, say the development of models for forecasting hurricanes are somewhat elementary” compared to models for red tide, he said.
A tool to fight red tide, he said, is equally difficult. The last field test required months of preparation and a team of more than 30 people. Using the same technology found in its own marine habitats, Mote recently pumped water through an “ozone system” in hopes of purifying a canal in Boca Grande.
Ozone, a reactive gas formed by three oxygen atoms, can be harmful if misused, said Richard Pierce, a senior scientist at Mote. That’s why his team ran the water through a contained system rather than pumping ozone directly into the water.
And addressing red tide involves more than just killing its root organism: Karenia brevis. The key is to destroy toxins released by the dying organisms and to incorporate oxygen back into water that was choked by hungry red tide cells.
Pierce found that a small canal could be treated with enough time and ozone systems, but another solution is needed for larger bodies of water.
His team is also testing the use of clay in combating red tide. In studies conducted more than a decade ago, scientists used residual clay that was formed during phosphate mining. They wanted to know how it filtered toxins and whether it affected life on the seafloor.
Clay is sprayed atop the water, acting like a net as it sinks to the bottom and captures the red tide organisms, Pierce said. Conservationists pointed to the clay’s harmful effect on filter-feeding animals, but Pierce said a safer clay is under development.
Scientists are focused on fighting red tide while minimizing harm to the environment. A complex problem deserves a complex solution, Mote’s president said on Monday.
“It’s extremely easy to kill red tide,” Crosby said. “Let’s get a bunch of Clorox and dump it in the ocean, right? No — you can’t do that.”
Tireless planning and lab tasting is needed before a field test can occur. Mote’s goal, he said, is to field test new technology within six months.
Florida’s governor, who is running against incumbent Bill Nelson for a seat in the U.S. Senate, recently urged the Legislature to bolster environmental programs with a $220 million increase in funding next year.
And the state DEP allotted $13 million to several Florida communities, including $750,000 for Manatee County, as a response to the red tide emergency.
The governor’s critics, however, are pointing to past budget cuts in the DEP and the state’s five regional water management districts. Angered by the noxious smell of red tide and its effect on local tourism, other residents have condemned runoff from large farms and the release of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee to local estuaries.
Mote’s president said there is no “smoking gun,” stressing that no single person, industry or natural event is responsible for such complex blooms, which naturally occur 10 to 40 miles offshore. He said the blooms are strengthened by a host of factors, including nutrient runoff from both agricultural companies and residential activities.
Crosby said he is grateful for the much needed funding, “no matter what the timing and the political season.”
“Pointing a finger at an individual in an elected position, in a high elected position, and saying that person is the cause of what we’re experiencing now, is not only naive, but it’s counterproductive,” he said.
“Last time I checked, Rick Scott wasn’t governor in the 1500s, when the Spanish documented massive red tide events and fish kills along the coast,” Crosby later added.
This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 5:51 PM.