You are here: Home › Stressors › Extreme Events › Harmful Algal Blooms › Feature Stories › Red Tide Public Forum Informs Community of Current Florida Red Tide Research and Future Research Needs for the Improved Management of Recurring Harmful Algal Blooms
Red Tide Public Forum Informs Community of Current Florida Red Tide Research and Future Research Needs for the Improved Management of Recurring Harmful Algal Blooms
Released July 21, 2006
Over two hundred concerned citizens gathered on Thursday night at three different locations in Southwest Florida to hear top red tide scientists summarize past research findings, public survey results, provide an overview of future critical research needs, and respond to questions from the public. The public forum, which presented the results of close to five hundred red tide survey responses, highlighted the congruency of scientists' and citizens' concerns. The Red Tide Public Forum was held July 20, 2006 in conjunction with the State of the Research on Red Tide in the Gulf of Mexico Workshop. A key element of the workshop, which preceded both the workshop and forum, was an online survey for the general public, which was distributed two weeks prior to the workshop by over a dozen media outlets including print, television and radio. Scientists incorporated the results of the survey into their discussions at the scientific workshop in order to ensure that residents and visitors had a voice in the direction of future red tide research efforts. Florida red tides occur nearly annually on Florida's west coast, when the harmful algal bloom (HAB) species, Karenia brevis, undergoes a population increase; it can lead to mass mortality of marine mammals, sea turtles, fish and other marine creatures, as well as affect humans with chronic respiratory problems such as asthma. For more information, please contact Leigh Zimmerman at Leigh.Zimmerman@noaa.gov.