Another coast is hit with red tide

SARASOTA — Clarissa Anderson, a scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has a big a job title — not only in characters, but in the magnitude of her responsibility.

She is the executive director of Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, SCCOOS, whose primary goal is to give local decision-makers in California the data they need to set better policies and understand the conditions of ocean water effected by harmful algal blooms.

"True mitigation isn't getting rid of the algae," Anderson said. "That's really hard to do in the ocean. You can't kill one organism without killing others. Our mitigation is focused on early warnings and trying to connect what's happening in the waters to the fisheries."

California's red tide is called Psuedo-nitzchia and it produces neurotoxins called domoic acid. The chemical is lethal to fish, birds and marine mammals, most noticeably California sea lions.

Read more: Complete coverage of red tide in Southwest Florida

In 1991, more than 100 brown pelicans and cormorants died in Monterey Bay, California, because of domoic acid found in anchovies.

Anderson said sea lion deaths are visible and upsetting, but haven't caused the same outcry seen in Florida. Advanced warning allows commercial shellfish harvesters to pull animals out of the water and warns fisherman of fishery closures.

"We don't see a backlash," Anderson said. "We work closely with the Department of Health to make sure we are on the same page."

California does not close beaches.

"The real mitigation comes in compensating those fisherman," said Anderson, explaining that communication is a priority. She says the model was adapted from Florida, which was the first state with an operational algae forecast. "It's not to say it's perfect, but that one paved the way for the rest of the country to do harmful algal bloom prediction."

No ecosystem is the same, according to the researcher, who says the same approach could produce false positives.

Anderson said the term "red tide" is a misnomer that isn't specific to one kind of algae. Other species of algae called red tide exist in New England and Chile.

A 15-mile-long red tide in California in May offshore from San Diego caused the nighttime ocean to glow blue, according to Scripps.

Anderson said water samples provide the best "ground truth data," but detection of red tide is also optical. Chlorophyll can be seen from space.

The Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tide, a joint project with the University of South Florida College of Marine Science and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, posts a weekly update using a combination of satellite pictures, drift trajectories and realistic wind measurements.

The model has correctly predicted major red tide in June and September.

Barbara Kirkpatrick, a former Mote Marine Laboratory scientist, helped develop the research center's beach conditions report by giving Blackberry's to lifeguards in 2006. Real-time data from 31 Gulf Coast beaches is updated daily.

The Sarasota Operations Coastal Oceans Observation Lab Beach Conditions Reporting System has been around for 12 years.

Kirkpatrick says it fills in the gaps between water sampling testing, which can take 48 hours.

"It’s the kind of info beachgoers want to know during the red tide," Kirkpatrick said. "I got pushback from the scientific community because the gold standard is cell counts."

Mote is developing another citizen science project called "Mote CSIC," an smartphone application allowing the public to gather and test water samples. An algorithm performs a broad test for red tide concentrations. Users can also report when and where they experience respiratory irritation.

"We’re doing this to obtain new data streams while empowering the public and putting the reporting in their hands," said Dr. Tracy Fanara, manager of Mote's Environmental Health Program. "We care about public health and enjoyment of Florida’s ecosystems."

Kirkpatrick said beach patrons and fishermen, and recreational boaters have long been a valuable source of information.

"I have great respect for those folks they know a lot about what is going on, on our waters," she said.

New advances in technology and public participation are keys to providing red tide relief. Improved beach experiences can lead to better business performance along the coastline.

In both California and Florida, government agencies have declared state of emergencies because of the impact of red tide. The funds are used for cleanup and to promote tourism.

"The real mitigation is compensating businesses," according to Anderson.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering small business in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties economic injury disaster loans to cover working capital needs caused by the algae bloom. Low-interest loans up to $2 million are available for qualified businesses.

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