Big plans for when red tide vanishes in Sarasota-Manatee
As red tide lingers on in the Gulf, local and state officials have prepared plans to help businesses and habitats in the area recover. They say they’re ready for action — but are stuck waiting for red tide to dissipate before they can move away from quick-fix solutions and offer long-term help.
Kelly Clark, director of communications at the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her organization is ready to launch an ad campaign as soon as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says red tide has dispersed. In the meantime, the bureau has been running a campaign to drive people living on the mainland to visit Anna Maria Island and take advantage of restaurant deals there, she said.
“For the island, tourism is their bread and butter,” Clark said. “With not a lot of tourism coming, we’re trying to do the best we can to keep an influx people going in and creating a bit of an economic impact in the area.”
Read more: Complete coverage of red tide in Southwest Florida
Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing organization, has set up a $500,000 program to help local tourism development boards like Clark’s. Erin Duggan, vice president of Visit Sarasota County, said her organization already has received a $50,000 grant from the fund and have applied for more.
Though Visit Sarasota County’s advertising budget is already almost $3 million for fiscal year 2019, the grant money will be spent entirely in one quarter, maximizing its effect, Duggan said. Visit Sarasota County also is working on adding 500 pictures and videos of local attractions to Google Maps, which will also be funded by Visit Florida, she said.
“They have authorized us to move forward with (the campaign) as soon as red tide dissipates, so again, we’re waiting on that,” Duggan said. “But we’ve got a $50,000 digital campaign ready to rock and roll.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been engaging in its own efforts to combat red tide’s effects. On Aug. 30, the organization made red drum and snook, two fish species whose populations have been devastated by red tide, catch-and-release only from Anna Maria Island to Gordon Pass in Collier County. On Sept. 26, the commission expanded the policy northward to include all of Tampa Bay and Pasco County and extended its expiration date to May 2019.
The commission also announced programs to raise and release 20,000 juvenile fish — half redfish, half snook — to replenish their stock in the area. Though the snook program is expected to start in April 2019, both announcements have the caveat that the programs will begin only “when the waters are determined to be safe.”
“One of the potentially most devastating and highly visible impacts (of red tide) around Charlotte Harbor was to the spawning snook population,” President Michael P. Crosby of Mote Marine Laboratory said in the news release. “Many of the dead snook were laden with eggs to produce the next generation. Governor Scott and our partners at FWC quickly called on Mote and provided our fisheries scientist with the resources to conduct a rapid snook population impacts assessment, but much more needs to be done to ensure the recovery of this iconic species. That is why we are proud to partner with our colleagues at (Coastal Conservation Association) Florida and FWC to launch the Adopt-A-Snook partnership for red tide recovery.”
Visit Florida spokeswoman Sara Sowerby said Tuesday that out of the six applications the organization has received so far, it has approved three and awarded $205,000, including Visit Sarasota County’s.
Clark, the Bradenton bureau spokeswoman, said that the coastal counties hardest hit by red tide have applied for a joint grant to advertise the entire Southwest Florida region, which Sowerby confirmed.
“I think this week and the last week, we’ve been keeping our fingers crossed because we’ve had really good reports from the beaches,” Clark said. “Sarasota County and (Manatee) County are lucky because we have a very diverse selection of things to do in our areas.”
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