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COLUMNS

Red tide likely to return if we don’t take action now

Alvin Peters | Guest Columnist
Many dead fish were present on the beach at St. Andrews State Park on Sept.18 in Panama City Beach. The air at the park did not cause any noticeable red tide related irritation to the photographer while on the beach. [PATTI BLAKE/THE NEWS HERALD]

In the not too distant past, property was cheap on Panama City Beach because the land was unsuitable for farming.

In the 1930s, Gideon Thomas, the namesake of Thomas Drive, changed that. He helped build a tourist economy for the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches.

Recently, property has sold for more than $60,000 per Gulf-front-foot.

In the not too distant future, if there were a persistent red tide it could once again make the land cheaper. Potential visitors would wonder if it’s safe to swim, eat the fish or even breathe the air.

Red tide is a harmful algae bloom scientifically known as karenia brevis. At certain levels, it releases a powerful neurotoxin that kills fish and marine life and is aggravating to human lungs and flesh.

Karenia brevis has plagued beaches in Southwest Florida for almost a year now. Beaches near Sarasota have been covered with dead fish and hundreds of dead sea turtles. Over 100 manatees and 41 dolphins are suspected of dying from the South Florida red tide. Karenia brevis is a species distinct from the freshwater blue-green algae, cyanobacteria, coming out of Lake Okeechobee.

In Northwest Florida, our incumbent politicians are attempting to calm concerns. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for example, explains that red tides are “natural” and date back to Native American days.

Still, the typical Beach visitor is unaccustomed to seeing an endless line of dead fish along the shore, as has been the case some days earlier this month. And, difficulty breathing and the rotten smell are not good for tourism or property values.

Why are the fish dying?

In certain areas, Karenia brevis has dominated the Gulf environment to the point where the levels of neurotoxins it releases are fatal to the fish.

Are the red tide blooms more frequent or pernicious?

Record keeping was less rigorous before the 1990s and virtually nonexistent in the early part of the 20th century, so it is hard for scientists to compare. But a look at the FWC website shows more reports of fish kills from red tide in recent years. In Bay County, fish kills occurred in 2015.

Around the world, harmful algae blooms are causing significant marine death in places as far flung as China and California. The widespread occurrence of severe harmful algae blooms is itself a clue as to the cause.

What are the causes of our harmful algae blooms?

Heat

As anyone who has baked bread with yeast knows, heat is an essential element for the micro-organism’s growth.

Around the world, median ocean temperatures have increased due to climate change. Fossil fuel consumption has increased the levels of atmospheric CO2 from 280 ppm to over 400 ppm since 1875. The CO2 and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere act like an atmospheric blanket trapping more heat from sunlight.

For the first time in recorded history, the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico never fell below an average daily temperature of 73 degrees in the winter of 2017. Certain species of phytoplankton like karenia brevis get a competitive edge in warmer water.

Nutrients

Karenia brevis feeds off phosphorus and nitrogen, ingredients common to fertilizer and animal and human waste. Human development along the shorelines and in river basins has increased stormwater runoff.

In addition to the development of more paved surfaces, the precipitation from storms is now more severe. Warmer air can hold more water vapor. As storms overwhelm the runoff prevention systems, more nutrients wash into the Gulf and become a food source for the algae.

Fertilizer and waste runoff from the Mississippi River basin has created a low-oxygen dead zone in the Gulf that approximates the size of Connecticut. In 2017, scientists measured the hypoxic zone at over 8,776 square miles, its largest size ever. Fish and shellfish cannot survive on the low oxygen. Algae blooms, however, prosper in the nitrogen and phosphorous rich environment.

• Sea level rise

Oceans have generally risen about 8 inches in the last 100 years with the pace of rise accelerating in recent years. Most scientists predict another 1 to 3 feet and some predict up to 8 feet by 2100. Sea level increase will exacerbate flooding and wash even more nutrients into the oceans.

• Ocean acidification

With the absorption of more carbon from CO2 in the atmosphere, the Gulf of Mexico and the world’s oceans have generally become about 30 percent more acidic. Some harmful algae blooms including karenia brevis seem to benefit from a more acidic marine environment.

• Stratification

As most swimmers know, natural bodies of water are cooler at deeper levels. Oceans have a natural process of upwellings that mixes water levels and moderates temperatures. The relatively severe increase in surface water temperatures has aggravated stratification in the water column, leaving the warmer water at the top and the denser, cooler water at the bottom and with seemingly less mixing from upwellings.

• Changes to the Gulf Stream

Just as everybody with an “Open East Pass” bumper sticker knows, marine environments are healthier with a steady water exchange.

For thousands of years, the Gulf Stream has drawn warm water from the Gulf of Mexico and carried it northward toward Europe. Scientists predict climate change will change this dynamic conveyor belt of ocean heat. So far, although some scientists report a weakening of the Gulf Stream, most would agree its future decline does not portend well for the effort to moderate the temperature in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 100 years.

• What shall we do?

Act sooner, not later. Most problems are more efficiently solved with earlier intervention.

Insist that policy makers be guided by science. Most climate change deniers or minimalists are Republicans. Voters need to hold them accountable for the damage they are doing to our present and future environment or convince them to work on solutions.

Work together across state and national lines. A flood in Houston or fertilizer runoff in the Mississippi River basin washes in nutrients that can kill fish in Florida. States and the federal government have to prioritize effective conservation. The Farm bill touted by Congressman Neal Dunn needs to strengthen the provisions for preventing fertilizer and animal waste runoff not weaken them. The Paris Climate Accord is an example of international climate cooperation. Sadly, under President Trump the United States is now the only nation to have announced its intent to not participate.

Through rigorous federal restrictions, the Red Snapper population has seemingly recovered. So, citizens and our representatives can make a difference.

Harmful algae blooms threaten our coastal communities with enormous economic dislocation and hardship. Whether Republicans like it or not, effective environmental regulation in the form of limiting stormwater runoff and reducing CO2 emissions are actually necessary to protect our economy, our health and our coastal way of life.

As we have already seen, much can change in 90 years.

The author is a local attorney, an occasional guest columnist and the owner of a fine hat collection.