The Rundown on Harmful Algal Blooms
News of the red tides washing around Florida shores prompt concern among all places where the sea is a necessary resource. Can this happen in Tobago? Dr Anjani Ganase discusses the red tide phenomenon. On the back of a hot summer, reports and images of floating schools of dead fish, and dead dolphins, turtles, manatees and even one whale shark washing up along the shores of Florida’s west coast have been making their way into the news and social media. These are the devastating impacts of the harmful algal bloom, commonly known as the “Red Tide.” Although Red Tides tend to occur seasonally, most years, this latest harmful algal bloom, actually began in November 2017, 10 months ago, and the persistence and severity is exceptional, coming in second but slowly catching up to the length of the 2004-2006 Red Tide event that lasted seventeen months. Whale shark necropsy performed on Sanibel Island by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to determine ca...