START provides red tide information
To the editor:
In response to this public interest, in 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, in partnership with Solutions to Avoid Red Tide (START), created a special grants program to support projects that would study ways to control and potentially lessen the effects of Florida’s red tide on coastal communities.
Called the “Red Tide Control and Mitigation Program,” the competitive grants program funded 12 research studies and disbursed more than $1.5 million between 2007 and 2009 to explore environmentally acceptable techniques or technologies for potential control or mitigation of red tide blooms and their effects in Florida.
As the organization responsible for providing information about the Red Tide Control and Mitigation Program to the public, START is happy to provide you with an advance copy of “The Red Tide Control and Mitigation Program: Report to Stakeholders” in a downloadable PDF available at www.research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=27877. This report is a summary of the 12 projects funded through the program, including information about the goals of each and the potential implications for the results.
The contents of this report will be presented to the public between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 10. This free public forum at Mote Marine Laboratory will include research results, information about the current state of red tide control and mitigation strategies and a question and answer session.
If you have additional questions, please contact me, Dr. Jill Copeland, at START. I can be reached at 941-953-4545 or via e-mail at mjill@start1.com.
Jill Copeland
Executive Director
Solutions to Avoid Red Tide (START)