Chapter 1: The Impact of Red Tide on Florida's Waters

In August 2018, Ralph Breeden dialed the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report a deceased manatee floating in the bay behind his home in a serene Saratoga neighborhood. Biologists Gretchen Lovewell and Rebeccah Hazelkorn swiftly arrived to recover the body using a truck equipped with a portable crane. Lovewell and Hazelkorn serve as marine emergency responders and forensic specialists, often dealing with large marine animals like turtles and dolphins. Their home base is the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, which was contacted by the wildlife commission for this task. Both women are tough, sporting marine-themed tattoos—Lovewell with a dolphin, manatee, turtle, and whale, and Hazelkorn with an octopus.

Upon their arrival, Breeden's three grandchildren and their mother, Siri Falconer, awaited them, excitedly pointing to the unfortunate animal. The manatee, nearly 8 feet long, was floating belly up, its skin stretched to the point of rup