SANIBEL, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health lifted red tide alerts for more than 20 locations in Lee County on Friday, including the waters off the Sanibel Causeway.
Watch as Sanibel Community Correspondent Anvar Ruziev speaks with red tide mitigation experts about their project:
As local waters clear up, scientists are working to stop red tide from coming back.
Mote Marine Laboratory is testing a new solution that could help. Last month in Venice, researchers used two plant-based compounds, Xtreme and Clear, to target red tide.
“Largely, it kills the cell,” said Kevin Claridge, Mote’s Vice President of Sponsored Research. “It will actually lyse the cell—a scientific term for breaking the cell—and it will drop it in the water column, where it’s not causing respiratory impacts or releasing toxins.”
During a presentation to the Sanibel City Council on Tuesday, Claridge said field tests showed up to an 80% reduction in Karenia brevis—the organism responsible for red tide. He assured officials that the compounds specifically target red tide and do not harm other marine life.
“All of our testing so far and all of the research done for the regulatory approvals is showing no impact from those,” Claridge said.
Before these compounds can be used widely, they must be approved by multiple state and federal agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Mote Marine is also looking to partner with local governments, including Sanibel, to speed up the process.
“The takeaway I got from the city council members is—work faster, Mote, and try to provide these tools and technologies to our community,” Claridge said.
Mote Marine plans to expand field testing this year and eventually scale up to offshore mitigation projects, helping coastal communities like Sanibel prepare for future red tide outbreaks.
List of locations where red tide alerts were lifted on Friday:
