On Monday, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, tapped Dr. James Sullivan Ph.D. to serve on the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative Advisory Council.
Sullivan is currently the executive director of Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. Before that, he was with the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and worked as a senior oceanographer for Sea-Bird Scientific. Sullivan earned his masters and doctoral degrees in biological oceanography with specializations in phytoplankton physiology and ecology, as well as bio-optics and biophysics, from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.
Galvano praised Sullivan on Monday and stressed the importance of battling red tide.
“Our economy, health and quality of life are tied to the well-being of our environment. The Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative will help our state develop technologies and approaches needed to address the control and mitigation of red tide and its impacts,” said Galvano. “Dr. Sullivan is a nationally-recognized leader in researching harmful algal blooms and also in the development of techniques and instruments used to study the growth and spread of algae. He will be a key asset for the Initiative Advisory Council as they work to develop a science-based plan to mitigate the harmful impacts of red tide.”
Originally proposed by state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative is a partnership between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Mote Marine Laboratory.
“The purpose of the initiative is to develop technologies and approaches needed to address the control and mitigation of red tide and its impacts. The bill requires the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative to submit an annual report, beginning January 15, 2021, containing an overview of the initiative’s accomplishments and priorities to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of Environmental Protection, and the Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,” Galvano’s office noted.
Author
