Headed to the beach? Red tide mostly cleared in Tampa Bay area – WTSP
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
Current Conditions
Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 53 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in two samples: one from Pinellas County and one from Lee County. We continue to use satellite imagery (USF and NOAA NCCOS) to help track this event. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in Pinellas County, background and very low concentrations in Manatee County, background to low concentrations in Sarasota County, background to low concentrations in Charlotte County, background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Collier County, and low concentrations offshore of Monroe County.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at low concentrations offshore of Taylor County (please visit https://myfwc.com/redtidemap for more details).
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received from Southwest Florida over the past week from Sarasota County. For more details, please visit https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/ and https://visitbeaches.org/.
Over the past week, respiratory irritation suspected to be related to red tide was reported via the Beach Conditions Reporting System and/or the Fish Kill Hotline in Southwest Florida in Pinellas, Sarasota, and Lee counties. For recent and current information at individual beaches, please visit https://visitbeaches.org/ and for forecasts that use FWC and partner data, please visit https://habforecast.gcoos.org/.
