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Water-Related News

Experts: Keeping water nutrient-free key to red tide battle

Don’t feed the algae.

More than 100 people filled the Bradenton Yacht Club dining room in Palmetto July 23 to participate in a scientific forum on the algal blooms plaguing local waters.

The event was coordinated by Suncoast Waterkeeper and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, and notable attendees included Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, Manatee County administrator Dr. Scott Hopes and six Manatee County commissioners.

Suncoast Waterkeeper chair Joe McClash opened the gathering by stating the forum’s purpose: To inform the public about what can be done to mitigate annual algal blooms that kill wildlife and devastate local economies.

Ed Sherwood and Dr. David Tomasko, executive directors of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, endeavored to answer the question in back-to-back scientific presentations.