UF/IFAS wants to hear from those impacted by the red tide of 2017-2019

GAINESVILLE – University of Florida researchers want to hear from marine businesses impacted by the 2018 red tide event that occurred between October of 2017 and January of 2019.

Respondents will have until Sept. 25 to complete the appropriate online questionnaire.

“We will run the surveys statewide with an initial focus of our analyses in Southwest Florida and then a longer, more detailed look at statewide results,” said Christa Court, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of food and resource economics and Florida Sea Grant affiliate faculty member, who is working on the survey with Andrew Ropicki, another UF/IFAS assistant professor of food and resource economics and Florida Sea Grant marine economics specialist.

Called the “Assessment of the Impacts of Florida’s 2018 Red Tide Event,” the survey focuses on the state’s marine industries, Court said.

“Though our initial focus is on Southwest Florida, we recognize there could have been impacts to other regions of Florida, as recreational activity of both tourists and local residents moved to non-affected areas,” she said. “Media coverage and the simultaneous occurrence of a blue-green algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee also could have influenced opinions on which parts of the state were impacted.”