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County to Post Red Tide Signs

Posted on: Thursday, 27 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Dana Sanchez, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Oct. 27--Manatee will be the first county in Florida to put red tide informational signs on beaches under a Florida Department of Health pilot program aimed at reaching tourists.

In a conference call with tourism leaders across the state Wednesday, Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing agency, called for a uniform strategy to educate tourists.

The toxic algae causes coughing in humans and kills marine life. Records of massive fish kills date back hundreds of years. In Manatee County this year, red tide was prevalent during much of the spring and summer but its occurence was unpredictable.

Some tourists are confused about the severity of symptoms from exposure to the algae bloom and whether commercial seafood is safe to eat, said Andy Reich with the Florida Department of Health toxins program.

"We never really reached out to do it as a statewide effort," Reich said. "We've been frustrated trying to reach tourists who don't read newspapers or get on the Web."

Though a nine-month episode of red tide appears to have ended -- for now -- temporary signs will go up at two sites on Manatee County beaches during the next "prominent incident," said Larry White, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The signs will be placed near lifeguard towers, and readers will be encouraged to address questions to lifeguards.

White prefers signs to other methods suggested for reaching tourists.

Being able to control when and where the signs go up is preferable to sending tourists to Web sites that may contain dated information or to an operator in Tallahassee who doesn't know the conditions on Anna Maria Island, he said.

"I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than advertise that red tide is gone or that it's here," he said. "It's a basic precept of marketing: You don't promote a negative."

Virginia Haley, director of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, was less enthusiastic. "I have an issue with signage," she said. "I don't think it's going to help."

The best educators of tourists, most agreed, are people who can direct tourists to other attractions or other beaches where red tide may not be a problem at a given time.

In Fort Walton Beach, for example, a volunteer corps of locals walk the beaches daily, educating tourists.

Tourism leaders agreed during the conference call that any printed informational piece distributed statewide should not be limited to red tide but include safety tips on other beach dangers including rip tides, jellyfish, stingrays, sharks and sunburn.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)

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