Mote, the governor disagrees with environmentalists at the Red Tide

Michael Crosby, President and CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory, talks about a new $ 2.2 million Red Tide research initiative on September 24, accompanied by senior state officials, including Noah Valenstein, secretary of the Florida Environmental Protection Department, left, and Eric Sutton, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Pictures of Icelanders: Kathy Prucnell

Environmentalists question governor Rick Scott's priorities following the reallocation of his $ 2.2-million budget to Mote's marine lab, which targets red tide technology.

Mote President and CEO Michael Crosby, along with senior officials from the Florida Wildlife and Conservation Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection, announced the new initiative at a press conference on September 24 at the Center. Keating Marine Education School in Sarasota.

Scott, in a press release, said, "As our state continues to fight the naturally occurring red tide along the Gulf Coast, we will stop at nothing to help our communities deal with this problem. . "

The Republican governor has requested $ 2,178,000 to test red tide technologies, including clay experiments and improvements to Mote's ozone treatment system.

"We started using and testing clay as potential many years ago. And that did not work out at that time, "Crosby said after the press conference.

"As technology advances, it's good to look again" to determine if the clay in small amounts could attract more algae without negative impact, he said.

Crosby said the technology was promising, but the studies needed to be done carefully, with limited pilot experiments in the environment so that it did not do more harm than good.

He expects results in six months.

The radioactive phosphate clay has not worked countercurrently in Mote's previous tests, according to Larry Brand, a researcher at the University of Miami, who has studied more than 50 years of data on red tides and published in the Harmful Algae's journal under the title "Long-term Increase in Karenia brevis abundance along the southwestern coast of Florida. "

Some environmentalists fear that clay will accumulate on the bottom of the ocean, disrupt the food web and choke the habitat.

"I do not think (Scott's) priorities are clear," said Justin Bloom, founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a non-profit organization charged with protecting the waters of Sarasota and Manatee counties.

"Although he thinks there are positive optics, he continues to lament a disturbing trend in not solving the underlying problems of the red tide … the pollutants of human origin that fuel the red tide, "he added.

Bloom suggested to Scott to tackle the "root of the problem", to strengthen law enforcement in the environment and to rehire hundreds of DEP employees that the Governor had dismissed at the beginning of his term.

The brand has accepted.

In the face of public pressure on the red tide issue and Scott's candidacy for the US Senate, he said the current government "must apparently be seen as doing something".

Brand's research has concluded that the red tide is 15 times worse than it was 50 years ago.

Although the technology may offer a short-term solution to some localized problems, he said it would not contribute anything to the current 1,000 square mile red tide.

"What has obviously grown is us," said Brand, referring to population growth, fertilizer releases and their impact on water.

"It's a lot more abundant today," he added.