An opportunity to curb Sewage and Fertilizer in Florida

Here's a chance to help keep our waters pristine. From the Sierra Club newsletter

On January 15 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new limits to curb sewage and fertilizer pollution in Florida.  These new limits represent a historic first step toward cleaning up Florida's waters.

All you have to do is look at the green slime covering lakes, rivers, and shorelines during our warm months to know Florida needs to reduce fertilizer runoff, control animal waste better, and improve filtration of sewage.

Florida's polluters are already pressuring the EPA to back down and weaken or eliminate these proposed pollution limits.  We need to take action now.

The change in federal policy comes more than a year after Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida and St. John’s Riverkeeper filed a major lawsuit to compel the EPA to set strict limits on nutrient poisoning in public waters.

Now is the time for Floridians to send their comments to the EPA in support of this strong action.  Click here to learn more about the proposed pollution limits and send in your comments today.

Midweek Red Tide Update, 01/26/10

In southwest Florida, Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota and Manatee counties.  One sample (out of 5 total samples) collected alongshore of Collier County contained background concentrations of K. brevis.

 

Sampling will continue this week, and complete results will be available in the next scheduled status report on Friday, January 29.

 

Visit (http://research.myfwc.com/features/category_sub.asp?id=4434) for the Florida Red Tide Current Status Report and select the statewide summary or a region of interest for more information and sampling details.

 

The University of South Florida's College of Marine Science Center for Prediction of Red Tides (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu) uses coupled biophysical 3-D models to track and predict harmful algal blooms in the southeastern United States.  Various experimental products include Karenia flag maps of bloom locations (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu/products/karenia-satellite-flags), 3.5 day HAB trajectory forecasts along with nowcasts, which are reports of current conditions, and forecast models (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu/models).

Red Tide Status Reports, 01/22/10 for the Southwest Coast

SOUTHWEST COAST

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore of Pinellas, Manatee, Charlotte and Lee counties or offshore of Lee County.  One sample collected offshore of Pinellas County and one sample collected offshore of Sarasota County contained background concentrations of K. brevis.  Two samples (out of 27 total samples) collected alongshore of Sarasota County also contained background concentrations of K. brevis.

 

Samples collected alongshore of Collier County contained concentrations of K. brevis ranging from not present to very low.  Two samples collected offshore of Collier County contained concentrations of K. brevis ranging from present to low. Samples collected offshore of the lower Florida Keys (Monroe County) contained concentrations of K. brevis ranging from not present to medium.

 

Bloom Boundary (alongshore):  A patchy bloom of Karenia brevis has been detected this week alongshore and offshore of Collier County ranging in concentrations from not present to low.  A localized bloom of K. brevis has also been detected offshore of Monroe County, on the northern side of the lower Florida Keys, with concentrations ranging from not present to medium.

 

Visit (http://research.myfwc.com/features/category_sub.asp?id=4434) for the Florida Red Tide Current Status Report and select the statewide summary or a region of interest for more information and sampling details.

 

The University of South Florida's College of Marine Science Center for Prediction of Red Tides (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu) uses coupled biophysical 3-D models to track and predict harmful algal blooms in the southeastern United States.  Various experimental products include Karenia flag maps of bloom locations (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu/products/karenia-satellite-flags) , 3.5 day HAB trajectory forecasts along with nowcasts, which are reports of current conditions, and forecast models (http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu/models).

FWC records unprecedented number of cold-related manatee deaths

The cold period that began Jan. 2 and lasted nearly two weeks continues to impact Florida manatees. Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute documented more than 100 manatee carcasses in state waters from the beginning of the year through Jan. 23.

Biologists report that the preliminary cause of death for 77 of these animals is cold stress. Although pending final review, the number of cold-stress deaths exceeds the previous record of 56 for that category in a single year, which was set in 2009.

In addition, researchers note exposure to cold this year likely contributed to the deaths of several newborn manatees, classified as “perinatal.” Researchers continue to recover and examine carcasses, so the total is expected to rise; however, the rate should slow down as water temperatures warm.

The recent cold snap exposed manatees in Florida to cold water temperatures. Exposure to low temperatures over a period of time can cause a condition called manatee cold-stress syndrome, which can result in death.

Since receiving the initial reports of cold stress-related manatee deaths on Jan. 7, FWC biologists have been working closely with FWC law enforcement and partner agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to respond to the high number of manatee deaths. FWC staff members and conservation partners are working extended hours to recover and transport carcasses to the FWC’s Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory in St. Petersburg. There, biologists perform necropsies, or animal autopsies, on each manatee to determine the cause of death and gather additional data. Some carcasses that cannot be transported are examined in the field.

Since the cold weather conditions began to affect Florida, FWC researchers have worked diligently to rescue several manatees and continue to respond to reports of distressed manatees.

“We are deeply concerned about these impacts on manatees and other fish and wildlife,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “We appreciate all the time and effort being put into the process of documenting the effects of this unprecedented event and ask the public to assist in the effort by reporting dead or distressed manatees to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).”

For additional information about manatee conservation, visit MyFWC.com/Manatee. For more information on manatee mortality research, visit http://research.MyFWC.com/manatees.

-30-

To view this press release online visit http://research.myfwc.com/news/.

Warmer weather is upon us...Sea Grass survey time!

Well at least it’s getting warmer and the cold weather has done a bit of number on the Turtles who were in shock (so were we!) let alone the Manatees and Fishing in general. Good news though is the Red Tide seems to have left this area and is only patchy in some areas of the south.

Sea Grass winter survey is coming up with the instruction day in another few weeks on Jan 30th. Last year we had a good group out, we also found it even more interesting with Rob Wright with Sarasota County giving us an in-depth (no pun intended) understanding of the sea life whilst we were using the multitude of watercraft including Paddle-boards, Kayaks, Inflatables and almost anything that floats. :D Great way to make new friends too!

If you’d like to follow my Water Shed project in my own community and my passion for keeping the Ocean and the Waterways as pristine as possible go to AllardPPC.com my PR Marketing Company and VRAGroup.com that does the Gadgets, Knick-Knacks and Cool Stuff which is better known as Promotional Products, Ad Specialties and Incentives. And Hey I love what I do and it allows me to enjoy my water sports... bonus!

Red Tide status for the SOUTHWEST COAST...

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was NOT detected in water samples collected this week alongshore of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Collier counties or offshore of the Florida Keys (Monroe County). Four samples (out of 20 total samples) collected alongshore of Lee County contained background concentrations of K. brevis. Four samples (out of 14 total samples) collected inside of Pine Island Sound (Lee County) contained concentrations of K. brevis ranging from PRESENT to VERY LOW.