Microscopic organisms are jeopardizing our coastal areas, killing thousands, even millions of fish; contaminating shellfish beds; and causing various human illnesses. This may sound like the plot from a science fiction movie, but more and more states are finding this a reality as toxic algal blooms appear to be spreading and becoming more common.
The cover story of this edition of Coastal Services looks at how Texas coastal resource managers tapped into Florida's experience with Gymnodinium breve to develop a Red Tide Contingency Plan. Texas also used as a model the National Plan for Marine Biotoxins and Harmful Algae developed in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service. The national plan can be viewed at http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/nationplan/s-kplan/s-kcontents.html.
NOAA is among the many public agencies and nonprofit organizations that are spending millions of dollars to research why, where, and when a harmful algal bloom will occur, and are providing states with resources and tools to better understand and manage red tides. Until we know more about red tides, it's important for coastal resource managers to plan and prepare for a possible bloom, and to be aware of all the resources available to them.
The magazine also features an article on the Florida Marine Spill Analysis System, which is helping decision makers in that state prioritize oil spill response and cleanup efforts. This geographic information system (GIS) application was demonstrated at GeoTools '99, a conference held by tile NOAA Coastal Services Center in April.
Not only did we think the conference, which covered everything from GIS to the Global Positioning System (GPS), was a huge success, but 97 percent of those surveyed afterwards rated the conference very high. I would like to give a big thanks to the 268 people who attended GeoTools '99, presented information, and made sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes.
-- Margaret A. Davidson
