Last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a state of emergency due to the extreme red tide algae bloom that is responsible for the widespread death of thousands of sea creatures.

The order applies to the counties of Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota.

“Biologists and scientists (will be made) available to assist in clean-up and animal rescue efforts,”Scott said in a news release.

In the past month alone, workers have cleaned up more than 2.7 million pounds of dead fish and sea creatures that have washed up onshore. Hundreds of sharks, dolphins, sea turtles and manatees have also been killed in the red tide since the beginning of the summer.

This type of algae bloom is naturally caused and not a threat when at normal levels, however, a number of human-influenced factors contribute to turning this into an environmental disaster. Experts believe that the main culprit is fertilizer runoff caused by one of the state’s largest industries, sugar farms…….more here