Red tide at all Sarasota County beaches – SNN
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
Current Conditions
A bloom of the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists on the Florida Gulf Coast and in Tampa Bay. Conditions remain improved in most areas of Tampa Bay relative to prior weeks. Over the past week, K. brevis was detected in 109 samples. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 59 samples: seven from Pasco County, 12 from Pinellas County, three from Hillsborough County, six from Manatee County, 27 from Sarasota County, two from Charlotte County, and two from Lee County. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to high concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County (in 23 samples), background to medium concentrations in Hillsborough County (in nine samples), background to high concentrations in Manatee County (in 13 samples), background to high concentrations in and offshore of Sarasota County (in 32 samples), background to high concentrations in Charlotte County (in seven samples), background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Lee County (in five samples), and background to very low concentrations in Collier County (in two samples). Samples collected from or offshore of Monroe County did not contain K. brevis.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at low concentrations offshore of Hernando County (in two samples) and background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pasco County (in 16 samples). Samples collected from or offshore of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Dixie, Levy, or Citrus counties did not contain K. brevis.
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
On Florida’s Gulf coast, fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported in Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties over the past week. For more details, please visit: https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/.
Respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported over the past week on Florida’s Gulf coast in Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Lee counties. For current information, please visit: https://visitbeaches.org/.
Forecasts by the USF-FWC Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides for Hernando to northern Monroe counties predict net southeastern movement of coastal surface and subsurface waters in most areas over the next 3.5 days.