- March 28, 2024
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The Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau took a proactive step — especially for a tourism agency — when it highlighted the Gulf oil spill by posting a link on its Web site home page titled: “Update: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.”
An explosion at the oil rig off the Louisiana coast on April 20, and the leaking of thousands of gallons of oil, led to the declaration of a state of emergency covering six Panhandle counties by Gov. Charlie Crist 10 days later. That order was extended south through Sarasota County on May 3, and appears likely to be extended next down to Lee and Collier counties.
The bureau's link reads: “Sarasota County is not experiencing any impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and no impact is predicted. This unfortunate situation should not affect Sarasota's coast. The Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau is closely monitoring the situation with the Sarasota County Emergency Operations Center. Should there be any change in circumstances, we will post the information immediately. For more information on the response to the situation, go to www.DeepwaterHorizonResponse.com.”
Virginia Haley, president of the Visitors Bureau, says Sarasota should be relatively safe because of the loop current and the wide Gulf shelf there. Florida Bay and the Florida Keys, however, may be in the path of the drifting oil as it moves south into the Gulfstream and up the east coast.
No other convention and visitors bureaus along the Gulf Coast, even as far north as Citrus County, had yet to include any information about the link or the oil spill as of May 3.
Other information about the situation may be found through links on the Web site. Information on beach conditions from Collier County to the Panhandle may be found on Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory Web site at: www.mote.org/beaches. The site has been updated to include impacts from oil along the 33 beaches of the Gulf Coast in the lab's reporting system.