March 10, 2007
SAROSATA ALGAE SENDS TOURISTS INTO MANATEE
By Carl Mario Nudi
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16873680.htm?source=rss&channel=bradenton_local
The knee-deep stacks of rotting algae lining the beaches of Sarasota County have been sending the tourists north to Manatee County. "Our beaches are packed," said Chief Jay Moyles of the Manatee County Marine Rescue Division, which includes lifeguards.
A massive outbreak of red drift algae has been plaguing the Gulf Coast shorelines from Collier to Sarasota counties in recent years. As the rotting seaweed is washed ashore, it begins to smell, making for an unpleasant day at the beach. The waters off Manatee County , though, have not seen any signs of the nuisance water plant.
"The water is as clear as Waterford crystal," Moyles said. A scientist expects those conditions to stay that way.
Brian LePointe, a marine biologist with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce , has been studying red drift algae, or Gracilaria , for the island city of Sanibel .
According to LePointe, because the red drift algae is moved around the Gulf of Mexico by wind currents, and the wind usually comes out of the north and northwest at this time of year, it is unlikely to migrate to Manatee County from Lee County, where the concentration was the heaviest.
Officials from Longboat Key and Lido Key said there have been no reports of the red drift algae on their beaches. Mark Ibasfalean, a charter fishing boat captain, said he has not seen any of the seaweed in any of his trips out into the gulf. "Last time it was seen was in midsummer (last year) on the back side of Longboat Key," Ibasfalean said. "The water was almost orange." He said he has not heard any of the other fishing guides talk about seeing red drift algae either. " Bradenton has been pretty lucky," Ibasfalean said. "At least right now."
Sarasota County has not been so lucky, though, having to clean the smelly, rotting seaweed from its tourist-drawing Siesta Key beach.
"It's ramping up to be another bad year," said Rob LaDue, supervisor of the Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Department.
From Oct. 1 through Feb. 1, work crews removed more than 2,270 tons of the seaweed from Siesta Key and Jetty North beaches, at a cost of about $130,787 in dumping fees alone. "We're trying to reduce those costs," LaDue said. "Right now, we are taking the seaweed to the dump wet, which makes it heavier." He said they used to let it dry out on the beach, but people began leaving early when it started to smell. So the county is setting up a drying area off the beach, before taking it to the dump.
The effects of this phenomenon remind some of the red tide outbreak a large portion of the Florida west coast experienced in 2005. Red tide, a single-cell organism, releases a toxin that kills fish that wash up onto beaches, chasing the sunbathers away when they rot.
Red drift at a glance
Red drift algae is a seaweed that grows on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico to a length of about 12 inches. When currents dislodge the plant from the seabed, it washes up onto the beaches. If it is not removed quickly, it creates a smell that chases away beachgoers.
Red tide is a single-cell organism that releases a toxin that kills fish. The toxin also can affect people's eyes and breathing.
Carl Mario Nudi, Herald staff reporter covering the city of Palmetto and northern Manatee County , can be reached at 745-7027 or at cnudi@Bradenton.com