Florida Beach Conditions Reporting Now Available in Collier County

Following a series of Gulf of Mexico Alliance workshops hosted by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, local and state-wide agencies partnered together to inform their communities about red tide. With the collaboration of various agencies and funding made possible by the Collier County Convention Visitors Bureau, the Collier County Coastal Zone Management Department, and MOTE Marine Laboratory, Collier County is now able to provide new means of reporting red tide events.

Modeled after the successful reporting system already in place in Sarasota County, beachgoers in Naples and Marco Island are able to check local beach conditions, including wind, temperature, water color, fish kills, respiratory irritation, and surf conditions via the internet. This site is updated twice a day by Collier County park rangers who report beach conditions using internet-linked blackberries.

Visit www.mote.org/beaches for the full report and for more information.