From pier to the Capitol, red tide divides – and unites – Floridians
Nothing much seemed amiss in the historic fishing village of Cortez last week as fishermen offloaded an easy 1,000 pounds of crevalle jack – headed to Canada – while forklifts tipped fresh ice into massive coolers.
But for fisherman Kirt Aylward, the dockside commotion belied an existential concern for not just fishermen, but for much of the Florida coast: a noxious tide that he had steered his skiff through that morning.
A harmful algal bloom known as red tide is forcing Floridians, from the fishing pier to the State Capitol, to confront a universal foe. The scourge has
The gathering tide'A balancing act'
