
Ocean Technology
Using innovative ocean technology to accomplish interdisciplinary scientific goals
1600 Ken Thompson Parkway
Sarasota, FL 34236
Ph: (941) 388-4441
Hours: 10AM - 5PM
A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Mote Marine Laboratory on the Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Initiative. The third Request for Proposals will be open from 9 a.m. EST March 1 until 5 p.m. EST April 16, 2021. Please click on this Proposal Guidelines link for more information on how to submit a proposal.
Mote will host a webinar on this Request for Proposals at 11 a.m. EST March 25, to provide an overview of the Proposal Guidelines and answer any questions. If you are interested in participating in the webinar, please contact Kevin Claridge at kclaridge@mote.org or 941-388-4441, ext. 275, to receive the webinar link.
The Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Initiative is a partnership between Mote Marine Laboratory (Mote) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that establishes an independent and coordinated effort among public and private research entities to develop prevention, control and mitigation technologies and approaches that will decrease the impacts of Florida red tide on the environment, economy and quality of life in Florida.
Florida red tides are harmful algal blooms caused by higher-than-normal concentrations of Karenia brevis (microscopic algae native to the Gulf of Mexico). Florida red tides produce toxins that can cause widespread mortality of marine fishes and other wildlife, and those toxins can enter the air and cause respiratory irritation in people on shore. Florida red tides can significantly affect quality of life in coastal communities and drain millions of dollars from economies that rely upon ecotourism, fishing and other ecosystem services.
Floridians have rightfully demanded solutions to address red tide, and in June 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law 379.2273 Florida Statutes to establish and support the Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Initiative as partnership between Mote—a 64-year leader of independent, entrepreneurial and nonprofit marine research with decades of red tide science—and FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the primary state-government entity focused on Florida red tide. The bill provides a $3-million appropriation from the General Revenue Fund each year for six years ($18-million total), and FWC will award funds to Mote to achieve the goals of the Initiative.
Building upon the ongoing and highly productive FWC-Mote cooperative red tide research and monitoring program, this new applied science Initiative strategically leverages state appropriations with Mote’s private and federal funding in order to: