The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is tracking a massive harmful algae bloom known as red tide that has been intensifying off the Florida coast leading to fish kills and respiratory irritation as travelers flock to the Sunshine State for Spring Break.
The red tide was initially observed in the days after Hurricane Ian impacted areas around Fort Myers and has grown throughout the winter.
The ongoing event has caused hundreds of fish to wash ashore on Southwest Florida beaches, and biologists revealed Wednesday that several manatees had been transported to recovery centers due to high toxin levels.
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According to the current sampling over the past week, the red tide organism, Karenia breves, was detected in 157 samples along Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to the FWC.
Officials say that red tide bloom concentrations (<100,000 cells/liter) were present in 89 samples last week. Two were in, and offshore of Pasco County, 24 were in and offshore of Pinellas County, eight were in Manatee County, 32 were in and offshore of Sarasota County, six were in Charlotte County, nine were in Lee County, and eight were found in Collier County.
Let’s break down each region as we track the red tide in Florida.
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Red tide in northwestern Florida as well along the Sunshine State’s east coast doesn’t appear to be as big of an issue as it is along the southwestern coast.
According to FWS, over the past week, red tide was seen at background concentrations in Bay County, and low to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pasco County.
Not present or background levels are 0-1,000 creels per liter while low is more than 10,000-100,000 and medium is more than 100,000-1,000,000.
Here’s the full report for northwestern Florida.
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In southwestern Florida, red tide was observed from background levels to high concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, low to high concentrations in Manatee County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Sarasota County, background to high concentrations in Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in Lee County and very low to high concentrations in and offshore of Collier County, according to the FWC.
Here’s where you can find the full report for southwestern Florida.
Red tide has not been observed along Florida’s east coast from Palm Beach County north to Nassau County.
Here’s where you can find the full report for the east coast of Florida.
The FWC says reports of fish kills suspected to be related to the red tide have been reported along Florida’s Gulf Coast over the past week in Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier and Monroe counties.
If you’re in those areas, you can report fish kills by clicking here.
RED TIDE ALONG SOME FLORIDA BEACHES PROMPTS WARNINGS TO STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER
In addition to the red tide and fish kills, there have been reports of respiratory irritations along Florida’s Gulf Coast across multiple areas of Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier and Monroe counties.
NOAA scientists have been warning people to stay away from the water along some of Florida’s beaches because of the risk of developing respiratory issues due to red tide.
“If you are starting in the parking lot, when you hit the dune crest going over to the beach at a place that has a risk, you’re likely to be coughing at that point,” explained NOAA oceanographer Rick Stumpf. “I can be quite miserable at the beach. If you have asthma, it could be worse, significantly worse.”
Stumpf said that he feels like he has a cold when exposed to red tide. His nose runs, and his sinuses bother him. After leaving the beach and sitting in his car with the air conditioner running for a few minutes, the symptoms subside. Anyone with a respiratory illness could suffer worse.