Thousands lined Florida’s beaches to demand state leaders stop future red tide outbreaks like the one killing sea life on the state’s Gulf Coast.
Sunday’s “Hands Along the Water” events happened on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from the St. Petersburg area to Fort Myers to Fort Lauderdale.
The stench on some beaches from animals killed by the current red tide outbreak caused protestors to wear breathing masks.
The toxic algae bloom has overrun Florida’s southern Gulf Coast this summer as thousands of dead fish, hundreds of sea turtles, some dolphins and even a whale shark have washed ashore.
There is debate over whether pollution worsened the outbreak.