72.6 F (22.6 C) average annual air temperature
82.8 F (28.2 C) average annual high temperature
61.9 F (16.6 C) average annual low temperature

Red Tide Information:
A pilot program that creates a new reporting system for red tide on Sarasota County beaches will be available to the public online beginning Friday, Sept. 1, 2006. The system, created in response to requests for more current and up-to-date information about beach conditions from area residents, businesses and beachgoers, is designed to provide regular daily updates during red tide events.

The Beach Conditions Report will include several types of information: whether dead fish are present, whether there is respiratory irritation among beachgoers, what the water color is, the wind direction and what flags are currently flying at the beaches. The reports will be provided by Sarasota County lifeguards e-mailing the information to Mote's Sarasota Operations Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory (SO COOL), which has created software that automatically updates the information online. A telephone number where the public can hear the same updates available online is expected to be added in the near future.

Reports are scheduled to be updated at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily to coincide with times of the day when people are most likely to use the beach. The system is being tested this week and is expected to be available to the public Friday, Sept. 1, in time for the Labor Day weekend. All the information is date and time stamped so the public knows how recently a report was made.

The Beach Conditions Report is a joint program funded by the Florida Department of Health and implemented by Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, manager of Mote's Environmental Health Program in the Center for Ecotoxicology, and J.R. Ayers, Sarasota County Lifeguard Operations Manager. This new report comes on the heels of a recently expanded water quality monitoring program implemented by Mote and the Sarasota County Health Department.

Through the work of Dr. Richard Pierce, director of Mote's Center for Ecotoxicology, and David Pouso, the health department's Healthy Beaches Coordinator, health department staff are collecting additional water samples so that Mote can analyze them for the presence of red tide. The water samples complement the county's comprehensive monitoring program that tests 16 beach locations for the presence of bacteria.

"By working more closely with county staff in a number of areas, Mote scientists are able to gain access to additional information, as well as give the public as much information as possible in a timely fashion," said Dr. Pierce.

As scientists learn more about the health problems related to red tide, such expanded monitoring programs are increasingly important, said Andy Reich, manager of the Aquatic Toxins Program for the Florida Department of Health, which is funding the pilot Beach Conditions Report. "There is a growing body of evidence produced by scientists at Mote and many other institutions suggesting that people with certain chronic lung problems should be aware of beach conditions before they head out," Reich said. "This is the first step to doing just that."

Dr. Kirkpatrick, who created the program, hopes to expand the Beach Conditions Report to other beaches that have lifeguard stations. "Today's computer technologies allow for the transfer of information faster than ever before," she said. "Hopefully this program will allow us to provide the public with current information about what's happening at area beaches so they are better informed and have a more enjoyable experience here in Sarasota."

The information gathered for the Beach Conditions Report will also be shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which formulates a harmful algae bloom forecast. The Beach Conditions Report should help enhance NOAA's forecast ability.

Online
Beach Conditions Report, Red Tide Updates and links to NOAA's HAB Bulletin and Sarasota County's Healthy Beaches Program:
www.mote.org/environmentalupdates