Red Tide Causes Economic Losses to Southwest Florida Industry
January 13, 2017
Red tide events are somewhat common to the Southwest (SW) Florida coastal environment. Evidence of such periodic red tides extends many years into the past. Fish kills and disrupted water-dependent activities have been the historic hallmarks of these events, but more recently … a new and growing industry has felt the impact of red tides. Commercial molluscan shellfish culture within the region is often closed, as are natural shellfish beds, when red tides occur within SW Florida. An extended red tide event occurred during the period from November 2015 through April 2016. The harvest of cultured shellfish (hard clams and
