Yesterday, Gov. Rick Scott announced additional funding for red tide in areas of the state impacted by the naturally-occurring algae. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will receive $765,000 to help with the organization’s response. This money will help support the response of more scientists and will fund additional field and laboratory equipment. FWC and its network of public and private partners actively work to monitor the status of red tide and other threats to Florida’s wildlife and respond accordingly. In early October, the FWC unveiled a new, interactive red tide map on MyFWC.com. Featuring information from daily samplings to monitor the location and levels of red tide throughout Florida’s coastal waters, the new map allows viewers to zoom in to see exactly what the latest red tide samplings found.
Gov. Scott also announced that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has committed $1.3 million in grant funding for communities along Florida’s Atlantic Coast to help mitigate the impact of red tide. The new funding includes:
- More than $522,000 for Indian River County
- $500,000 for Palm Beach County
- $100,000 for St. Lucie County
- $100,000 for Miami-Dade County
- Almost $75,000 for Brevard County
DEP launched a grant program in July in response to naturally-occurring red tide this year. The program is intended to help communities who have been negatively impacted by the algae, and it identified $12.4 million on top of other funding that had been previously dedicated to red tide response. As of October 31, 2018, DEP has provided:
- Nearly $2.2 million has been dedicated to test new technologies that could help mitigate the effects of red tide
- $1.2 million was announced for FWC’s redfish hatchery
- $100,000 was committed to Mote Marine Laboratory’s response to red tide
- $500,000 to VISIT FLORIDA for the creation of emergency grants to assist local tourism development boards in impacted counties
- $3.5 million for Pinellas County
- $750,000 for Manatee County
- More than $265,000 for Collier County
- Nearly $1.5 million for Sarasota County
- More than $330,000 for Charlotte County
- $500,000 for Palm Beach County
- $100,000 for St. Lucie County
- Nearly $75,000 for Brevard County
- $522,000 for Indian River County
- $100,000 for Miami-Dade County
- $3 million for Lee County
For a complete list of resources as well as the latest information regarding the state’s response, please visit FRLA.org/algae.