The Impact of Red Tide on Florida's Beaches

When you think of Florida, what comes to your mind?

Do you imagine white sandy beaches and clear green-blue water with dolphins and manatees glittering the coastline? Most of the time this is what locals and tourists can expect, but unfortunately a rare but recurring phenomenon called “Red Tide” has been leaving beaches and surrounding sea life devastated.

If you’ve been following Sea Going Green’s social media lately, you’ve probably seen some coverage from the beach cleanup we planned on New Years Eve at Clearwater Beach. While most of our focus on the cleanup had to do with raising awareness on the effects of plastic pollution, we couldn’t help but notice that the abundance of “Red Tide” was just as much of a concern for locals and attendees as pollution. Therefore, I’d like to shed some light on this issue as well as what can be done in the future to limit its effects on marine life and the tourism industry.