Florida waters threatened by algae

FLORIDA — Florida's coastline is being threatened by toxic algal bloom, and it seems to be getting worse every year, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

An algal bloom is a "rapid increase of the population of algae" in a relatively short period of time and can take place on freshwater or marine water systems, reports CNBA.

Algal bloom is caused by the overabundance of nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. This nutrients typically come from rainfall and waste water outflows.

The nutrients combined with the temperature of the sea, sunlight and water movement can work to trigger an algal bloom.

According to the EPA, the toxic blooms hurt marine life by blocking out sunlight as well as creating toxins that hurt small fish and shellfish after they consume it.

Not only do the algae hurt the environment, they also end up creating dead zones in the water where "aquatic life can no longer survive" because of the lack of oxygen, forcing marine life to either leave the area or die.

Environmentalists are urging the state government to do more to "address its polluted water," reports Tampa Bay Times.