Do you think the Keys will experience a Red Tide?
Keys Treasures
Researchers say toxin poses threat to coral reefs, fish
By Ann M. Henson, Globe Correspondent | December 12, 2004
KEY LARGO, Fla. -- Scientists are tracking a 400-square-mile red tide
that is drifting through the Gulf of Mexico and threatening to wash
ashore on the Florida Keys.
"It's huge," said Billy Causey, superintendent of the Florida Keys
National Marine Sanctuary, adding that the toxic tide poses "a major
threat to coral and coral reefs."
Red tide is composed of a higher-than-normal concentration of
microscopic algae that is toxic to fish and can cause watering and
itching eyes in people, as well as coughing and sneezing.
It can also be dangerous for those with severe or chronic respiratory
conditions. Swimmers who come into contact with it can develop an itchy
rash, so its appearance forces beach closures. The sale of seafood
caught within a red tide bloom is prohibited.
Lobsterman Gary Nichols is credited with spotting the tide Dec. 1, near
the southwestern tip of Florida where the Shark River empties into the
Gulf. He and his crew saw four dead dolphins floating in the algae,
along with a large number of dead fish.
Nichols, a 40-year veteran of the crab and lobster trade off the
Florida Keys, said the tide was the worst he had ever seen. It forced
him to relocate 3,000 lobster and crab traps that were along its path.
"The water is usually a green-blue color, but the red tide turned it a
dark brown with a red tint, and it smelled like dead fish," he said.
Chuanmin Hu, a scientist from the Florida Marine Research Institute, is
using satellite imagery to track the tide, which he says seems to have
joined another algae bloom emanating from the Shark River. The river
algae, he said, is harmless, "but it may add additional fuel to the red
tide." Red tide thrives on nutrients from dead fish and the river
algae.
A predicted cold front with winds from the north could break the red
tide apart, researchers said -- or push it closer to the Keys.
Eric Bartels of Florida State University's Mote Marine Laboratory, in
the Keys, took water samples recently with the hope of predicting how
the tide will behave.
"We're trying to learn as much as we can about red tide," he said. "The
question we're trying to answer is if they are increasing in severity
or coverage."