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Page 8 Attachment B: Supporting Research November 24, 2020 Update 2— Research Review Phase of IRL Plan decaying algae on the Lagoon's floor. As the. algae dies off, a crash in the Lagoon system's dissolved oxygen levels may result. While algal blooms have occurred throughout history in the Lagoon, one of the most noteworthy blooms was the 2011 Superbloom. This bloom occurred from the southern Banana River to just north of the Fort Pierce Inlet. The previous five years leading up to the bloom were dry years with little rainfall. Water conditions in the Lagoon had atypically high salinity levels and high Chlorophyll A concentrations. This superbloom acted as a tipping point from an environment dominated by benthic aquatic vegetation to a community dominated by planktonic microalgae. The years following 2011 were characterized by intense, recurring, and long-lasting algal blooms; widespread loss of seagrasses; and episodic wildlife mortality events. Shellfish populations were stressed, accumulating toxins and creating the risk for shellfish poisoning if consumed. Large-scale marine mortality occurred, with widespread fish kills in the area. The biodiversity of the system is threatened when algal blooms occur because the presence of these algal communities and the toxins they produce make life unsustainable for other organisms. The 2011 Superbloom exceeded documented past harmful algal bloom events in terms of geographic scale, bloom intensity and duration, and rate and magnitude of seagrass loss. To this day, the Lagoon still has not recovered seagrass populations back to the scale seen before this massive bloom. The County does have a "Harmful Algal Bloom Response Plan," which sets objectives, potential partners, and response actions for the County in the face of a harmful algal bloom event. These response actions include cleanup efforts, public messaging, and sampling. This plan was created in response to the red tide events of Fall 2018 that impacted the County's beaches. It was last updated in November 2018 and primarily refers to actions taken during a beachside harmful algal bloom event. This plan should be updated regularly with inclusion of lagoon -side harmful algal bloom events and responses. There are numerous agencies at various government levels that monitor and disseminate information about harmful algal blooms in Florida. Illness reports may be obtained by the public through the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), Florida's Poison Controls Centers and hospitals, and by subscribing to FWC's Red Tide Weekly Report and FDEP's Blue -Green Algae Weekly Reports. Areas that may have potential impacts can be found using NOAA's website (https:/./oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/) and Mote Marine's Beach Conditions Reporting System website (https://mote.org/research/program/environmental-health/beach-conditions-report-red-tide- information). FDOH maintains a searchable database of bloom records and acts a helpful indicator of HABs in Florida (http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/aquatic-toxins/public-access- caspio): Conditions of beaches, lakes, and rivers may be found through FWC's website (https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/). Local harvesting statuses may be found using the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) website (https://www.fdacs.�ov/Agriculture-I ndustry/Aguacultu re/Shellfish/Shellfish-Harvesting-Area-Maps). Status reports on HABs in Florida may be found using FDEP's website (https://floridadep.gov/Algal Bloom), the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's (FWRI) website (http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental- health/aquatic-toxins/ documents/habs-technical-guide.pdf), and the Mote Marine's Beach Conditions Report website (h ttps://mote.org/research/program/environmental-health/beach-conditions-report- red-tide-information). Finally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website 109