AS TOXIC ALGAE BLOOMS

kill wildlife and affect tourism in Florida, an Ocean Conservancy expert wades into a consideration of the risks we face today.

A toxic algae bloom is killing wildlife and affecting tourism in Florida, raising concern about coastal waters as well as other treasure in the state. To find out more about threats confronting the Gulf, and what policy-makers and ordinary Floridians can do to stem them, the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board sought out Reggie Paros the senior manager of government relations at the Ocean Conservancy. Paros is a Florida native and University of Central Florida graduate. For a complete transcript, go to OrlandoSentinel.com/Opinion.

Q: It’s easy to understand why coastal communities would be concerned about ocean health, but why is it important to people in landlocked communities like Central Florida? A: The best part of being a Floridian is that you are never more than two hours away from the beach. When people think of Florida, the beach is probably one of the first things that come to mind. For generations, both the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico have given us and our guests lifelong memories, plentiful food options, a place to escape and a way to make a living.

Although inland communities like Orlando aren’t directly on the coast, our state is well connected, and that gives inland residents a reason to care about the health of our ocean. Because of our state’s connectivity, the seafood on your plate in a downtown restaurant probably came through a marina somewhere on the Florida coast. It’s also likely that you know someone who is employed in one of Florida’s 10,000 seafood-sector jobs or works as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded researcher at one of our state’s 12 universities. No matter where you are in this state, we all have a stake in the health of the ocean.

Q: In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill spewed over 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, and fouled beaches from Texas to Florida. Has the Gulf recovered since then? A: In a word, no, the Gulf has far from fully recovered. But we are making steady progress toward recovery — even though the cost of full-scale Gulf of Mexico restoration far exceeds the $20.8 billion from the BP settlement.

You have to remember it was much more than fouling the beaches. Our cherished tourism and recreation businesses claimed economic loses of $884 million in a span of two years. For our fishermen, who depend on clean and healthy oceans free of oil for their livelihood, the disaster led to a closure of 15,300 square miles, an area 10 times the size of Rhode Island. That caused a loss of Gulf-wide seafood sales by as much as $953 million. That is why we, as do the majority of Floridians, oppose oil and gas drilling anywhere off the coast of Florida because of the devastation one spill like Deepwater Horizon can have on our state.

Q: Tell us about the other threats to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.. A: As we’ve seen for the past several months, for the Gulf and the entire state, water quality is an important, complex and interrelated issue. Current events suggest that natural and humaninfluenced processes are adding up to yield complex outcomes that jeopardize our state’s clean water. From red tide, to fish kills in the Indian River Lagoon, Caloosahatchee River, and the Florida Bay, to the "guacamole algae" that has caked our beaches as a result of the discharges from Lake Okeechobee, degraded water quality has severe impacts on human health, coastal economies, and the environment.

For the economy, NOAA has estimated that algal blooms, including red tide, impacts tourism and seafood industries nationwide at $82 million per year.

We want Florida to be the home to clean, healthy water. Accomplishing that will require a better understanding of our state’s waterquality problems, and collaborative solutions that bring all parties to the table to solve them.

Q: What can federal and Florida policymakers do to protect the Gulf? A: We’re lucky in Florida to have ocean champions around the state who are committed to protecting the Gulf and our state’s coastal communities. One of the most pressing needs for our lawmakers is to protect funding for NOAA, the federal government’s premier ocean agency. President Trump has proposed cutting NOAA’s budget by $1 billion, severely limiting NOAA’s ability to do vital work, like collect marine debris, manage our fisheries, and study the impact of harmful algal blooms on local communities. In hurricane season, that funding is even more important, as NOAA plays a key role in helping our communities recover after a disaster.

Thankfully, with the leadership of several Floridian policymakers, Congress has recognized such cuts aren’t acceptable. But we’re still not at the end of the road. We need our members of Congress to protect NOAA’s ability to make valuable contributions to the health of the ocean and the sustainability of its resources, which so many Floridians depend on.

Q: What can ordinary Floridians do to clean up the surrounding oceans? A: One of the qualities that I love most about my fellow Floridians is our commitment to protecting our home. From engaged students who are bringing attention to the issue of climate change, to the thousands of volunteers who pick up trash on our beaches during the International Coastal Cleanup every year, our residents are already doing so much to protect our ocean. In fact, there is an opportunity coming up on Sept.r 15 for Floridians to participate in a local ICC event. If interested, residents can visit www.suituptocleanup.com to find the cleanup event nearest to them.

However, we can always use more help. Beach cleanups are an important part in tackling the marine debris along our beaches. But during the ICC on Sept. 15, residents at cleanup events in certain parts of the state will likely encounter other things like red tide and pollution that can’t be fixed with volunteer cleanups alone. Just as Floridians suit up and work hard to be heroes for the ocean, we need our elected officials to be heroes for the ocean as well. So on the policy front, it’s critical for ordinary citizens to tell our lawmakers how crucial the ocean and its resources are to our state. By reinforcing to our representatives that Floridians demand clean water, clean beaches, healthy oceans, and thriving coastal communities, we can make sure they are representing our best interests in Washington.

No matter where you are, we all have a stake in the health of the ocean.