START is dedicated to promoting efforts for control and mitigation of red tide in an environmentally responsible manner and is committed to education outreach as its primary mitigation strategy. 

By managing and controlling red tide, START's vision is to improve the quality of life for Florida citizens and visitors, protect the environment and improve our State's economy.

START was founded in 1996 by General Jim Patterson (US Army, ret.). START has helped secure funding to support scientific research, economic impact studies, assessment of human health risks, and development of mitigation plans for local beaches.  

(1931-2009)
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 5 Ways To Help

  1. Become a Member
  2. Become a Volunteer
  3. Make a Contribution
  4. Political Contacts
  5. Start a Chapter

Follow this link to subscribe to the FWCs Red Tide Status Reports

Control & Mitigation News:

Center for Prediction of Red Tides
Dr. Jason M. Lenes of the University of South Florida and others have developed and completed a Web site for the Center for Prediction of Red Tides.  The site provides nowcast/forecast physical models and HAB trajectory models, as well as Karenia satellite flags indicating the area and extent of the bloom. The site also links to many of the products and data that go into the models.

The Center for Prediction of Red tides (CPR) is a jointly funded project between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWC- FWRI) and the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science (USF-CMS). Their mission focuses on development of an automated, coupled physical-biological model capable of predicting and tracking the dominant Florida red tide species, Karenia brevis, within coastal waters of the southeastern United States.

Please view the link:Center for Prediction of Red Tides or paste the link into your browser, http://cprweb.marine.usf.edu/

Florida Red Tide & Coastal Managers Commonly Asked Questions Presentation
The following PowerPoint presentation entitled "Florida Red Tide & Coastal Managers Commonly Asked Questions" addresses human exposures & health effects. The presentation was created by Lora E. Fleming, MD, PhD, MPH & MSc of the University of Miami and Wendy Stephan, MPH and CHES of the Florida Poison Information Center - Miami. The PowerPoint is intended for coastal managers but is appropriate for all audiences. 

Please view the following links:
Florida Red Tide & Coastal Managers: Commonly Asked Questions (with notes)

Florida Red Tide & Coastal Managers: Commonly Asked Questions (without notes)

Upcoming Event:

January:

Inaugural Sarasota Bay Watch Stakeholders' Meeting

"Our Living Shoreline"Tuesday, January 19; 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

(Meeting begins at 6:30)

New Pass Room, Keating Center, Mote Marine Laboratory

1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236


Please join us for an informative evening regarding the present state of the Sarasota Bay ecosystem. Speakers will present current restoration programs and new personal options for shore-line homeowners (including scallop cages, reef balls and dock and seawall habitats). A question and answer session will follow the presentations. Participating groups and organizations include Sarasota Bay Watch, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Manatee County Government, Sarasota County Government, Reef Ball Foundation, and ORCA (Ocean Restoration Corp. & Associates).

This free event is open to the public. Registration is required. Please call (941) 953-5333 to register.

Recent Events:

Englewood Chapter
Kim Feehan (Chapter President) and Carolyn Trohoski (Vice President) of the Englewood Chapter of START hosted a visitors table at the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program's 10th Annual Charlotte Harbor Nature Festival. The festival was held on November 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This was a family-friendly event where people learned about topics affecting the natural environment of SW FL. Topics included estuaries, native plants and animals, fossils, wildlife rehabilitation, water conservation, marine life and much more. 


Kim Feehan & Carolyn Trohoski






Sanibel-Captiva Chapter
The Sanibel-Captiva START Chapter hosted the SanCap Cracker Fest.  This was a fall celebration of Sanibel's Florida island heritage.  It was an event not to be missed for a taste of our real Florida cultural roots.  It was held in conjunction with the Esperanza Woodring Castnet Rodeo at the Baitbox on Sanibel Island.

There was delicious fare, including fried mullet, hushpuppies, pit-roasted pig, coleslaw and homemade desserts.  Entertainment included country music and a castnet-throwing contest.  There were silent and live auctions, benefiting the local Sanibel-Captiva chapter of START.  

The event was held November 6.  A wonderful time was had by all. Kudos to the Sanibel-Captiva chapter for organizing such a wonderful event. 

Please view the photos from the event.

Stephanie & Dan Hahn


Jim, James, Patty Sprankle, & Maureen


Richard Johnson


Silent Auction

Please view Sanibel Captiva Daily coverage for more event photos. Sanibel Captiva Daily

START Outreach Event
On Friday,October 23 from 6:30-9p.m., Mote Marine Aquarium hosted A Night of Fish, Fun & Fright.  530 attended the event, exceeding event expectations.  This was a family friendly evening.  START had a table and passed out candy.

START On Display

The START display was featured at the Fruitville Library, in Sarasota County for the month of September in coordination with the Sarasota County Library System's recognition of National Preparedness Month.

A short 8 minute film preview of the red tide documentary "Guardians of the Gulf" played on continuous loop in the lobby, throughout the month. 

On Wednesday, September 23, START's high definition film "Guardian's of the Gulf" (the 2008 Sarasota Film Festival version) was shown.  Senior Biologist, Kate Nierenberg of Mote Marine Laboratory answered questions following the presentation.  Snacks and refreshments were provided by Peggy Border of the Fruitville Library.  

START Outreach Event
The Selby Library in Sarasota County hosted a Community Preparedness Day event on September 26, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Kate Nierenberg of Mote Marine Laboratory gave a short presentation about red tide.  Many visitors visited the START display, asked questions and received START's outreach materials.


Kate Nierenberg & library patron


Kate Nierenberg & Danielle Troiano

Recent Film News:

The red tide film "Guardians of the Gulf" was shown on WGCU station at 6 pm Sat, Nov 21, and on midnight, Sun, Nov 22. WGCU serves Southwest Florida.

The red tide film "Guardians of the Gulf" aired on
the WUSF station, Saturday, October 10 at 12:00 p.m.  

"Guardians of the Gulf" aired on WEDU (Tampa PBS Station) Sunday October 11, at 8 p.m.    

"Guardians of the Gulf" was shown at the 2008 Sarasota Film Festival.  Since the film festival, some additional footage was added for the PBS airing.  More SW Florida stations are to follow.

 

 

Would you like a START guest speaker in your area? Please contact Danielle Troiano at Danielle@start1.com

Control & Mitigation Program Featured Project

Mote Marine Laboratory, Barb Kirkpatrick
Expansion of the Beach Conditions Reporting System to Collier County: Reducing the Public Health Impacts from Karenia brevis Aerosols

The Beach Conditions Reporting System: Coming soon to a beach near you!

Researchers at Mote Marine Laboratory, led by Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, have developed a real time Beach Conditions Reporting System to help decrease the human health effects of Florida red tide. This project will bring the reporting system to 10 beach sites in Collier County. With reports made twice daily at each site by beach park rangers and staff, Collier County residents and visitors will be able to determine beach conditions at their favorite beach via a hotline, 1-941-BEACHES (1-941-232-2431) or from a Web site coordinated by Mote Marine Laboratory (http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/) before heading out for a day at the beach. Because red tide blooms, once onshore, can be extremely variable, this system allows beach visitors to make informed decisions on which beach has minimal exposure to toxins. This project compliments previous systems that have been implemented in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Lee counties.

Update
The Beach Conditions Reporting system is up and running on seven sites in Collier County, thanks to the beach sentinels who take a few minutes out of each day to report current conditions and provide key information for a great day at the beach. A free e-mail subscription service was recently added to allow users to specifically get email reports for their county or counties of interest. Users can sign up through a simple service online. Please see www.mote.org/beaches.

Click here to view an example.

For more red tide control and mitigation projects and news, please select the C&M tab, located at the top of the page.

Red Tide Overview
Red tide is a specific type of harmful algal bloom (HAB) that poses a serious and recurrent threat to human health, wildlife, marine ecosystems, fisheries, coastal aesthetics, and the economy of Southwest Florida.  Learn more.

Additional Information
Collaborative efforts of the Red Tide Alliance have resulted in the development of red tide information that is available to the public.  To request information, please use this form.

Contact Information

Solutions To Avoid Red Tide, Inc. (START)   Contact Us Here    941-953-4545
1800 Second Street, Suite 799, Sarasota, FL 34236

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