Most anglers across the country have seen the blooms of blue-green algae that look like guacamole on the water. The official name for these outbreaks is Harmful Algal Blooms – “HABs” for short – and they are occurring with increasing regularity in parts of the country you might not expect.
- South Florida has experienced multiple blue-green algae blooms in the last couple of years. These blooms could be fueling the current red tide outbreak that has killed thousands of tons of marine life.
- In the Western Lake Erie Basin, HABs have created toxins that cause harm to animal life and humans.
- In California, the State Water Board reported algal blooms at dangerous levels in Lake Elsinore.
Fortunately, there’s a bill making its way through Congress that will help address this national problem. The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 2018 – HR-6645 for short – would reauthorize a key HAB-control program aimed at reducing harmful algal blooms and hypoxia across the country and specifically address HABs in the Greater Everglades system.
This bill is waiting to be taken up by the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Your Representative is a key member of that committee. Please click the “Take Action” button below and tell them to support HR-6645 today.
NOTE: As members of the Keep Florida Fishing coalition, we ask that you please forward this Action Alert to your contacts for others to show their support. Thank you!
