Florida red tide perception: Residents versus tourists

Abstract

The west coast of Florida has annual blooms of the toxin-producing dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis with Sarasota, FL considered the epicenter for these blooms. Numerous outreach materials, including Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) cards, exhibits for local museums and aquaria, public beach signs, and numerous websites have been developed to disseminate information to the public about this natural hazard. In addition, during intense onshore blooms, a great deal of media attention, primarily via newspaper (print and web) and television, is focused on red tide. However to date, the only measure of effectiveness of these outreach methods has been counts of the number of people exposed to the information, e.g., visits to a website or number of FAQ cards distributed. No formal assessment has been conducted to determine if these materials meet their goal of informing the public about Florida red tide. Also, although local residents have the opinion that they are very knowledgeable about Florida red tide, this has not been verified empirically. This study addressed these issues by creating and administering an evaluation tool for the assessment of public knowledge about Florida red tide. A focus group of Florida red tide outreach developers assisted in the creation of the evaluation tool. The location of the evaluation was the west coast of Florida, in Sarasota County. The objective was to assess the knowledge of the general public about Florida red tide. This assessment identified gaps in public knowledge regarding Florida red tides and also identified what information sources people want to use to obtain information on Florida red tide. The results from this study can be used to develop more effective outreach materials on Florida red tide.

Review of Florida red tide and human health effects

“…Among other findings, the results indicated that coastal residents and tourists may not have efficiently delivered and up-to-date information about Florida red tides and their impacts because of inconsistent public outreach. Nierenberg et al, (in press) further pursued these issues assessing the public knowledge about Florida red tide. Again gaps in public knowledge regarding Florida red tides were identified, even among coastal residents; and preferred information sources for obtaining information on Florida red tide were also identified.…”

Risk in Daily Newspaper Coverage of Red Tide Blooms in Southwest Florida

“…Research has indicated “knowledge gaps” and misperceptions exist (Kirkpatrick et al, 2014; Nierenberg et al, 2010). While there has been much controversy in both the scientific community as well as the general public about formation of Florida red tides, past research indicates that finding accurate information has been a challenge for residents and visitors and that efforts are needed to educate the public about Florida red tide (Kirkpatrick et al, 2014; Nierenberg et al, 2010). …”

Assessing the impact of shellfish harvesting area closures on neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) incidence during red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms

“…Closings are also issued under emergency conditions such as for hurricanes or tropical storms (FDACS, 2014). Nierenberg et al (2010) noted that both Florida residents and tourists have only limited knowledge about red tide blooms and their effects, including the misconception that harvesting and eating shellfish during a red tide may be safe. Tourists were found to have even less knowledge about red tides than residents.…”