![Dead fish are visible in the water at North Shore Park on Friday in St. Petersburg. The Sunshine City has become the epicenter of Tampa Bay's ongoing Red Tide crisis, and no one can say when it will get better. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c077481/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1140x641+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F07%2Fred-tide.jpg)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Amid the stench of dead fish, protesters marched along Florida's Tampa Bay to call for state assistance in dealing with a growing outbreak of harmful red tide.
More than 100 people took part in the event Saturday along the St. Petersburg waterfront shouting, “Save our bay, make polluters pay."
The protesters want Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency to provide more resources.
The governor’s office says such a declaration isn't necessary and that sufficient state grant money is available.
Experts have blamed the outbreak on a phosphate operation's leak in which more than 200 million gallons of contaminated water were dumped into the bay.
