Renewed funding would help complete studies that show the possibility of viable measures to control the extent or impact of a future red tide bloom.

After suffering for 11 months and 22 days with the prolonged red tide bloom of 1995-96 that left piles of dead fish on coastal beaches and clogged our canals, Longboat’s Mayor, the late General Jim Patterson, decided enough was enough. Something had to be done to deal with this persistent plague on the Key’s marine environment.
                                                       
Accustomed to mobilizing forces from his years in the military, the Mayor called together a group of concerned citizens for a strategy session at the Holiday Inn on Lido Key. Members of the group included Longboaters Jim Brown, Art Falls, Gordy Haglund, Hal Lenobel and Virginia Sanders, and Anna Maria Island restaurateur, Ed Chiles. START  (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) was born.
 
Soon after the meeting, Rob Haglund, Gordy’s son, was named the first Executive Director and Jim Brown helped raise the initial funding through his popular Newsletter. Over the years, as START’s following grew to nearly 500 members, Longboat remained the nucleus of the organization accounting for nearly half of the statewide members and most of the leadership.
 
From the beginning, START’s mission has been to actively seek ways to control and mitigate the harmful effects of red tide. But we soon found that red tide research was very disparate and scattered throughout the world with little or no coordination. It also lacked the needed focus on results-oriented control and mitigation applications. To address this shortcoming, START  joined a mutual partnership with the other key players in the red tide arena that lead to the creation of the Red Tide Alliance consisting of The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Mote Marine Laboratories, START and the Florida Department of Health. This collaboration brought together the leading scientists studying red tide, government agencies in charge of assuring the safety of our seafood and protecting human health and a citizens’ group helping to raise awareness and funding for control and mitigation solutions. 
             
After a concerted effort in working with state policy makers, START’s Ed Chiles and Jeremy Whatmough along with Florida Fish & Wildlife’s Gil McRae were able to convince Governor Bush to approve a special recurring Red Tide Control and Mitigation Program that was launched in 2007.  The program funded 12 new red tide research projects on topics ranging from the impacts on human health to biological and physical controls of red tide blooms or their toxins. Participating institutions in the Red Tide Control and Mitigation Program included Georgia Tech, University of South Florida, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Mote Marine Laboratories and The Smithsonian.

From 2007 to 2009, START stepped up its Education Outreach Program with the production of two High Definition (HD) documentary films, “Guardians Of The Gulf” and “Red Tide Refrain” that have had wide exposure locally. “Guardians Of The Gulf” premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival and has now been made into an hour-length PBS HD TV Special that has been aired on stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg. “Red Tide Refrain,” a shorter twenty minute HD film, has been screened at Mote’s Immersion Theater and is now a teaching aid for our local middle school science teachers in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. The film has also been featured on the Florida Education Network that provides streaming TV programming to schools across the State. 
                    
Unfortunately, with the impact of a faltering economy and declining government revenues, the state policy makers decided to end the Control and Mitigation Program at the end of 2009  after just two years of work in the originally planned five-year time frame. Despite this setback, it is START’s goal to expand our contact with Florida’s policy makers to try and reinstate the Control and Mitigation Program because there were a number of very promising research studies that worked with biological or naturally occurring mechanisms within a red tide bloom that either controlled the power of the released toxins, limited the available food source or even preyed on the red tide organism itself. With renewed funding, these interrupted research studies could be completed with the possibility of some viable measures to control the extent or impact of a future red tide bloom.

START recognizes the growing scientific evidence that the conditions leading to various marine water quality issues are related. For instance, controlling runoff is a key factor in safeguarding our marine environment. That’s why START, at the urging of a number of its Longboat members, joined those advocating a fertilizer ordinance with a rainy season nitrogen ban. This is also why START has revised its Mission Statement to include “Preserving Our Coastal Waters” as its prime objective.
                                 
Along with our continued support for Mote’s Beach Conditions Report giving 24/7 wind, sea and weather conditions at our beaches and, when needed, Red Tide Alerts, START has now produced 15- and 30- second Public Service Announcements for local TV stations that will be aired when a red tide bloom is headed for our shores. START will also be sending E-News messages to our members and posting bulletins on our website with information about volunteer opportunities if the Gulf oil spill ends up on our shoreline. 

Finally, coastal communities on the Gulf will be the focal point of START’s new Education Outreach Program on “Sustainable Seafood.” Working with seafood purveyors, restaurateurs and chefs, START will launch a series of events to better acquaint the public with sustainable seafood options for both restaurant selections and home use. There will be demonstrations on how to select, buy and prepare sustainable seafood. Look for announcements about our special Sustainable Seafood Dinner Events on our website at WWW.START1.com and in your local newspapers this coming Fall.

Sandy Gilbert is the Chairman of START and one of the founders of the Sarasota Bay Watch.     
My View:  by Sandy Gilbert, Guest Columnist (Adapted from The Longboat Observer May 20, 2010) 

START’s short film on red tide, “Red Tide Refrain,” initially developed for middle school science classes, aired on the Florida Knowledge Network (Florida Department of Education) March 15 at 7:30 am and March 31 at 11:30 am. The film was seen on both the Network’s programming for middle school science courses and their “Florida Spotlight” about Florida’s environment. The Network’s programming is also simulcast on many Florida PBS stations.

START will soon receive BluRay DVDs of “Guardians of the Gulf,” as well as some standard definition DVDs of this film. Soon both DVDs will be available for purchase and viewing in the community. Please stay tuned…

START has improved its mobile A/V capabilities by adding a Sony projector to use with the Sony BluRay DVD player donated to us by EISF, our partner in the production of the two films, and Sony. We want to be able to share these beautiful films with audiences large and small. 

 Red Tide Refrain DVDs Are Available

Standard and Blu-Ray Red Tide Refrain DVDs are for sale. 

Standard DVD: $15
Blu-ray DVD: $35

 
Membership Renewal Special Offer:
$100 membership- a standard definition DVD, valued at $15.00.  Your tax deductible amount for this donation is $85.00

$250 membership- a high definition Blu-ray DVD, valued at $35.00.  Your tax deductible amount for this donation is $215.00

Would you like a START guest speaker in your area? Please contact Colleen Adler at colleen@start1.com