Bloom Turns 1

By Kevin Wadlow, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Dec. 30–Not many algae blooms get to celebrate a one-year birthday, but the Florida Bay bloom did in November.

The bloom of blue-green algae still covered from 45 to 65 square miles in northeast Florida Bay in late November, a year after first being reported.

While not toxic like the red-tide algae, the blue-green still caused widespread problems and significantly affected fishing.

Fish departed areas where the bloom was heaviest.

Bottom-dwelling marine life died when deprived as murky water deprived the organisms of sunlight. Decaying plants then fed the algae, keeping it alive.

An algae bloom of that extent had never been seen in northeast Florida Bay, including Barnes Sound and Card Sound.

Many residents suspect that construction on the 18-Mile Stretch section of U.S. 1 triggered the bloom, through mangrove-clearing and soil-mixing that may have increased nutrients in the waters.

State officials studying the bloom maintain the construction may have been a minor contributory cause, but say the active 2005 hurricane season and massive freshwater discharges from the C-111 Canal system probably were more significant factors.

In any event, some road-construction practices have been modified to increase environmental protection.

A plan to uses thousands of tons of muck removed as part of the road project as fill at the former Carysfort Yacht Club (now a state preserve) was halted over concerns that it could trigger a new bloom.

In June, federal and state officials outlined plans to create a 5.4-mile “spreader canal” – crossing beneath the 18-Mile Stretch in south Miami-Dade – to more even distribute waters from flood control, and help restore a more natural sheet flow. Work on the $41 million project may begin in November 2007.

In other notable environmental news from 2006:

— A 46-square-mile Research Natural Area within waters of Dry Tortugas National Park received final approval. No-take rules officially take effect Jan. 20. More than half the park waters will remain open to fishing. Advocates say the area helps protect a relative shallow marine ecosystem, and should spur fish-population growth.

— In May, elkhorn and staghorn corals received formal status as “protected” under the federal Endangered Species Act. The branching corals that symbolize the Keys reef for many have suffered large-scale losses from disease and weather. An action plan to prevent extinction is being drafted. Local dive operators want to be sure that they will still be allowed to visit popular reef spots.

— The death of popular TV naturalist Steve Irwin after a stingray barb pierced his heart off Australia in September caused some tourists to worry about getting in Keys waters, where rays are common. Experts tried to assure people that rays pose almost no threat to divers.

“Being in the water with a ray is a lot less dangerous than riding a bicycle in Key West,” said Wes Pratt, a biologist at Mote Marine Laboratory on Summerland Key.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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