The first signs of massive red tide on Anna Maria Island appeared one year ago. Here’s what we know now

One year ago this week, the first signs of a red tide that would grip the area for months washed ashore on Anna Maria Island.

Within a week, dead fish were washing ashore and clogging inlet canals, filling the air with the odor of salty death. Beachgoers would stay away in droves.

The mass killing of marine life continued for weeks with manatees, dolphins and sea turtles becoming the next victims of Karenia brevis, the organism responsible for red tide.

By December, red tide appeared to be diminishing but it left one last dark impression on Manatee County when it seeped into Robinson Preserve, killing thousands of mullet preparing to leave for the Gulf of Mexico and spawning season.

It continued to lessen its grip on local waterways and a few weeks later the proverbial coast is clear was signaled, but the damage had been done.

The tourists still came and overall economic impact grew during 2018, but tourists largely avoided Anna Maria Island. Businesses suffered to the point where local and state government representatives started a campaign for local residents to get out and support local business.

It helped, but businesses reported it took months to recover the losses.

So what did we learn through the prolonged outbreak?

We learned red tide was nothing new and was first documented by a Spanish explorer in the 16th century. We learned there have been other lengthy and devastating outbreaks as recent as 2005 and somewhat in 2009. We learned that scientists remained baffled and divided over why 2018 was so bad.

We heard over and over again that red tide was “naturally occurring.”

We heard scientists and officials debate one another on whether or not — or at least how much — man-made pollutants were playing a role, and if Lake Okeechobee is the ultimate evil. In the end, everyone agreed we all need to be better stewards of the environment.

Florida legislators jumped into action with Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, getting a red tide mitigation bill passed to create, “an ongoing red tide research and monitoring program,” between FWC and Mote Marine Laboratory. Gov. Ron DeSantis reformed and funded a red tide task force.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, successfully squeezed $8 million out of the federal government for Mote Marine to research the detection of, and respond to, red tide outbreaks. Buchanan is pushing for additional dollars to study the long-term health impacts associated with red tide exposure.

Environmentalists said it wasn’t enough.

The government has thrown money at red tide before, but perhaps this time is different as scientists have made progress over the past 12 months compared to the out-of-sight, out-of-mind post events of the prior two outbreaks.

“The 15-month red tide bloom that began in 2017 had significant negative impacts to the environment, economy and quality of life in southwest Florida,” said Mote Marine president and CEO Michael Crosby in an email to the Bradenton Herald. “During the peak of the bloom’s impact, emergency state resources helped to make a positive difference in Mote’s ability to rescue sea turtles and marine mammals, and to restore an otherwise lost year-class of snook.”

Crosby said the money given to Mote from both philanthropic organizations like the Andrew and Judith Economis Charitable Foundation, as well as tax dollar in the amount of $18 million over the next six years is not only going to be put to good use, but will be a game changer.

“These developments will allow Mote Marine Laboratory to bring together and catalyze the best and brightest minds in science and technology to unleash transformative innovation for decreasing the impact of red tide,’ Crosby said.”

Scientists also have narrowed down where red tide begins offshore and are working on developing mitigation tools in hopes of dispersing a possible bloom before it gets too big. Scientists are able to track and forecast blooms further out than the past.

The University of South Florida recently published a study that implicates ocean circulation as the primary culprit for the 2018 red tide’s intensity and that Tropical Storm Gordon, in September of 2018, helped spread the outbreak from the Gulf of Mexico to Florida’s Atlantic coast.

We’re learning more, but will it be enough to stop another devastating outbreak? No one has that answer for now.

We’ve come a longer way than it appears, however, given that in August of 2018, at the onset of the outbreak in Manatee County, that scientists were still pondering a lot of the questions for which they now have a better understanding.

Federal dollars have helped Mote Marine implement its new red tide research center. It’s new director, Cindy Heil has been busy. Her team has identified 13 different sources of nutrients that aid in the creation of a bloom, but she said in April, that understanding it all and how it will help scientists mitigate in the future remains, “very complex.”

In the meantime, Manatee County businesses that rely on tourism, beach goers and nature enthusiasts collectively hold their breath in hopes that red tide will be nothing but a memory this summer.

Crosby believes the current efforts underway,” Will make a real difference in decreasing impacts of red tide to our environment, economy and quality of life.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2019 at 4:58 AM.